Andhra Pradesh: IAS officer travels 200 km to hold grievance cell in Maoist hotbed

ASR Collector assures to stay two days a week in Rampachodavaram  

The last week-end was hectic for Sumit Kumar, a 2014 batch IAS officer who took charge as the first Collector of Alluri Sitaramaraju (ASR) district recently. The Collector rode more than 200 kilometre in forest to Rampachodavaram, a Naxal-hit region along the Andhra-Odisha border, to hold a grievance cell meeting.

It is no secret that every move on the Paderu-Rampachodavaram road is under the watch both by the left wing extremist groups and the anti-naxal squads round the clock. Mr. Sumit Kumar reached Rampachodavaram on Sunday evening from the district headquarters in Paderu and conducted his first grievance cell meeting on Monday.

The Collector is scheduled to return to the district headquarters in Paderu by Tuesday night, which is another 200-km journey through the jungle. If he prepares for any field visits or inspections in the Chintoor Agency, it would be another 80-km journey through forest.

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has ordered that the Collector must ensure his stay two days a week in Rampachodavaram. The order was issued in the wake of raising concerns over the access to the district authorities by the tribes of Chintoor and Rampachodavaram.

In his maiden grievance cell on Monday, Mr. Sumit Kumar assured the tribes of staying two days a week in the erstwhile East Godavari agency and address their grievances.

Later in the day, the Collector appointed G. Suraj Dhananjay (IAS), Joint Collector of ASR district, as in-charge Project Officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Rampachoadavaram and Chintoor. The tribes of Konda Reddy, Koya, Konda Dora and Valmiki submitted their grievances during the meting on Monday.

Meanwhile, Alluri Sitaramaraju Zilla Sadhana Samithi convener Balu Akkisa appealed to the district authorities to ensure the redressal of grievances at the mandal and division levels, instead of forcing the tribes to wait for the district officials’ visit to the Agency.