The death of J. Sunitha, a 44-year-old teacher at the Mandal Parishad Primary (MPP) School in Mydrebu, in the vehicle explosion at Pinakota panchayat in Ananthagiri mandal, has left her colleagues grief-stricken. The incident has once again brought to the fore the difficulties teachers face in reaching schools located in interior villages, where transport facilities are inadequate and road connectivity is poor, her colleagues said.
Ms. Sunitha had been commuting to the school from Pendurthi in Visakhapatnam for the past two years, facing considerable difficulties due to poor transport connectivity.
According to United Teachers Federation (UTF) member Demudu, Ms. Sunitha travels by bus from Pendurthi to Devarapalli and then depended on private vehicles to reach Mydrebu, where she was posted. The daily journey involved considerable waiting and travel time, highlighting the challenges faced by teachers and other residents in reaching remote villages in the Agency area.
CPI(M) leader K. Govinda Rao said that villagers in and around Pinakota frequently depended on private vehicles, particularly jeeps, to travel between villages and reach nearby destinations. The lack of reliable public transport had made commuting a daily struggle for residents. When private vehicles were unavailable or delayed, people were forced to look for alternative modes of transport to reach their destinations.
The problem was not limited to Ms. Sunitha. Two other teachers at the school also depended on private vehicles to commute to the village every day. The journey from the point where they alighted from the vehicle to the school took nearly an hour, Mr. Demudu said.
While the other two teachers had been delayed on the day of the incident, Ms. Sunitha had reportedly been travelling to the school on time. Unfortunately, the accident took her life, he said.
Meanwhile, several teachers reached the spot where the accident occurred and expressed their grief over the loss of their colleague.
Speaking to the media, they said that teachers posted in interior Agency villages often struggled to find suitable rented accommodation and basic facilities, making it difficult for them to stay close to their places of work.
“Sunitha teacher used to travel with two other women teachers every day. On Saturday, she left early and this unfortunate accident occurred. Had all three of them travelled together, the consequences could have been even more tragic,” a teacher said, expressing anguish over the incident.
Another teacher said Ms. Sunitha had been hoping for the bifurcation of schools, which she believed would improve her chances of securing a posting in Anakapalli district and bring her closer to a more accessible location.
The teacher said that the process had been held up for various reasons, including the election Model Code of Conduct. Had the process been completed earlier and Ms. Sunitha secured a transfer, she might have been alive.
Published - October 24, 2026 11:47 pm IST