Andhra Pradesh: High-level panel holds talks with junior doctors’ body on demands

Situated atop a 200-foot hillock in Gattumeedapalle village, Andhra Pradesh, a once thriving agrarian community of 60 joint families and around 500 residents, now stands deserted and silent. The village, known for its groundnut cultivation, has become a case study in rural collapse, with all 60 houses empty and neglected. Despite the presence of streetlights, a temple, and an elementary school, no one resides in the village.

The decline began in the 1980s, as erratic monsoon rains led to the failure of borewells that villagers dug, each reaching depths of 800 feet. Despite drilling numerous borewells, the farmers found no water for their crops. This, coupled with the gradual decline in cultivation, led to a dwindling village economy, with no transport and no jobs. The nearest provision shop was a 2 km uphill walk.

By the start of the new millennium, the entire hillock hamlet was deserted, with families migrating to Bangalore, Kolar, Madanapalle, and Tirupati for livelihood and education. Recently, a fresh tar road was laid to the top of the hillock, but the village's residents, who now reside in the downhill panchayat of Kosuvaripalle, remain unsatisfied. They claim that the road does not address the core issues facing the village, such as the lack of scientific groundwater mapping in the hard-rock terrain.

Geologists, media, and nature lovers have been drawn to the phenomenon, but the revenue officials dismiss their concerns as a "blame game", stating that the residents left for better amenities and education. Prof. T. Madhu, a geology professor, explains that the hillock's unique geological formation, composed of quartzites, dolerites, and dykes, rendered it vulnerable to hydrological desertion due to climate change and the indiscriminate drilling of borewells in the surrounding area.