On either side of the river habitation is far and few. Patches of cleared forest show signs of tribal activities. In places HT wires cross the river. Excellent engineering! But this electricity flows overhead without reaching many tribal villages in this region, which remain unelectrified.



Two hours later, our first stop is Thammileru, a village of tribals with nearly 80-90 households. Jowar is the main food crop of these villagers. Pulses and Castor are their commercial crops. The average income of the household in this village is Rs. 6000 per year (USD 120). They spend Rs. 40-50/ month towards lighting through Kerosene. The villagers are getting the kerosene from Fair Price Shop (ration shop), Pochavaram. Certain villagers who can’t spend money on kerosene are burning firewood in their houses for lighting. The school, up on the hillock is till grade V. They have very little livestock, mostly hen scurrying through the village lanes. We also see some tribals sitting patiently on the banks and hoping some fish catches the bait.

The income in Rupees seems to be very low but then for these tribals, unlike us, the entire livelihood is not necessarily linked to the Rupee. They live off the Jungle and off patches of land. There is also the barter economy. But yes, there is poverty and poor living conditions. Somu talks to them in Telugu and is excited. They are prepared to pay Rs. 40-50 towards loan repayment of PV lanterns, he beams. As we move around the village, a bunch of children run ahead of us and another bunch follows us. A medical team on the ferry checks out some patients. There are cases of nutritional deficiency and malnutrition.

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