It is ritualistic to break a coconut and perform pooja at a place of worship when you need divine intervention. Tribals from Devarapalli mandal, Visakhapatnam district did exactly the same thing. But not a place of worship. The villagers went to the local MPDO office and started performing poojas to the building and even broke coconuts as offering. This novel protest today morning. Vaalaabu panchayat in Devarapalli mandal has been facing severed drinking water crisis for a while. Their please for help fell on deaf ears of the officials. Not sure if they took inspiration from Munnabai franchisee, but they took the Gandigiri route to make their problems heard. They decided they pray to the officials, quite literally. The frustrated villagers took the required pooja paraphernalia and reached at the Mandal Parishad Development Office. They started their prayers to the building and the officials there. The determined lot performed pooja and offered coconuts to each and every room in the MPDO. Once this was done, they came out and sat in a dharna with empty pots and vessels. They demanded that the officials solve the drinking water problem immediately. Not too sure if their prayers moved the officials, but for sure they caught everyone’s attention.
