Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of State for Industry and Commerce, has adopted two remote coastal villages — Pedamainavanilanka and Turputalla — in the Narsapur mandal of West Godavari district.

Personal interaction On Sunday, the minister arrived at the villages and interacted with local fishermen and mingled with the public by sweeping the roads.

Pedamainivanilanka is facing the problem of sea erosion and a major part of the village was submerged recently, forcing the district administration to relocate 4 km away from the shore. The minister’s interaction with the fisher folks was marked by the latter’s pleas for provision of safe drinking water. Another major issue which came to the fore was the havoc a creek in the vicinity played with the village. The people sought the minister’s help to build a bridge across the creek.

Model villages Nirmala, who earlier served the National Commission for Women as a member, sought to promote these two backward villages as‘model villages’ with women as the centrifugal force. “The model village in my view is the one which makes its women folk free from beating and harassment by their male partners under the influence of alcohol and 100 per cent enrolment of girls in schools,” she said while addressing public gatherings at these villages.

She proposed to build a women community centre with computer access and 24X7 power supply in the two villages which would serve as an outlet for the women to voice the gender-related issues faced by them.

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