'The village of widows' where there is only ONE adult male left among 35 Indian families: 25 men killed trying to cross the road after bypass is built through community

  • Highway bypass cuts off community from its headquarters on other side
  • Some 25 men have died trying to cross the road since it was built in 2006
  • One widow told how her husband, brother and father were killed on road
  • Locals say their demands for a footbridge or a tunnel have been ignored 

By Simon Tomlinson for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

For developing India, dangerous and potholed roads have long been a way of life.

But one highway running through a village in the southern state of Telangana has gained a dire reputation, blamed for the deaths of scores trying to cross it.

A bypass road of national highway 44 snakes through Peddakunta village, cutting off the community from its headquarters on the other side.

Since the road was built in 2006, Peddakunta has been dubbed the 'village of highway widows' with only one male adult left among the huts of 35 families. 

'No men to look after us': Indian widow K Panna holds a picture of her husband after he was killed on a bypass which has been built straight through her village of Peddakunta, now dubbed the 'village of widows' since 25 men have died trying to cross the road, leaving just one adult male among 35 families

'No men to look after us': Indian widow K Panna holds a picture of her husband after he was killed on a bypass which has been built straight through her village of Peddakunta, now dubbed the 'village of widows' since 25 men have died trying to cross the road, leaving just one adult male among 35 families

Fearing for their lives: Indian Lambadi tribal students prepare to cross National Highway 44 to go to school in the village of Peddakunta. The bypass cuts off the community from its headquarters on the other side

Fearing for their lives: Indian Lambadi tribal students prepare to cross National Highway 44 to go to school in the village of Peddakunta. The bypass cuts off the community from its headquarters on the other side

Deadly: The highway running through the village of Peddakunta in the southern state of Telangana has gained a dire reputation, blamed for the deaths of scores trying to cross it

Deadly: The highway running through the village of Peddakunta in the southern state of Telangana has gained a dire reputation, blamed for the deaths of scores trying to cross it

Some 25 male residents have been killed in Peddakunta trying to reach the other side, locals say.

The rest of the village comprises women, children and the elderly. 

'My husband died in a bypass road accident and so did my brother and my father. 

'There are no men to look after us in the family,' Kurra Asli, 23, told AFP news agency, holding up a faded photograph of her husband. 

In this photograph taken on October 5, 2015, Indian Lambadi tribal wWhusband in a road accident, feeds her children at her home in the village of Peddakunta, some 56 kilometers from Hyderabad. One highway running through the village of Peddakunta in the southern state of Telangana has gained a dire reputation, blamed for the deaths of scores trying to cross it. Since the road was built in 2006, Peddakunta has been dubbed the "village of highway widows" with only one male adult left among the huts of 35 families. The rest of the village comprises women, children and the elderly. AFP PHOTO / NOAH SEELAMNOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images

Widow K Shanthi (second left), who lost her husband in a road accident, feeds her children at her home

In mourning: Indian Lambadi tribal child K Jagan (right), who lost his father in a road accident on the bypass, sits with his mother K Mangi at their home in the village of Peddakunta, some 56 kilometres from Hyderabad

In mourning: Indian Lambadi tribal child K Jagan (right), who lost his father in a road accident on the bypass, sits with his mother K Mangi at their home in the village of Peddakunta, some 56 kilometres from Hyderabad

Tragedy: P Chitti, who lost her father in a road accident, sits at her home in the village of Peddakunta

Tragedy: P Chitti, who lost her father in a road accident, sits at her home in the village of Peddakunta

Another widow held up a black and white printout of her dead husband, his body laying on the bypass, his left foot crushed. 

Locals have demanded a foot bridge or tunnel so they can safely cross the four-lane stretch to reach the headquarters to collect monthly pensions or find employment in other villages.

But widows say their demands have been ignored.

'No one will help us. Everyone will come, take photos and videos and go off,' said K. Maani, 38, as she cooked over a stove made of mud.

Indians gather Peddakunta where deaths on a bypass running through the village has left just one adult male

Indians gather Peddakunta where deaths on a bypass running through the village has left just one adult male

Fending for themselves: Indian Lambadi tribal widow Kurra Negi (right) and her daughter-in-law Kurra Asli (left) work at their home in the village of Peddakunta, some 56 kilometers from Hyderabad

Fending for themselves: Indian Lambadi tribal widow Kurra Negi (right) and her daughter-in-law Kurra Asli (left) work at their home in the village of Peddakunta, some 56 kilometers from Hyderabad

Widow K Jamku, who lost her husband in a road accident, feeds cattle in front of her home in Peddakunta

Widow K Jamku, who lost her husband in a road accident, feeds cattle in front of her home in Peddakunta

'I do not have a gas stove or even a bathroom, no one is there to help us,' said the mother of three.

India has some of the world's deadliest roads with more than 230,000 fatalities annually, according to the World Health Organisation.

Transport analysts attribute the huge number of accidents to poor roads, ill-trained drivers and reckless driving.

The national government has put forward proposals for new legislation to make roads safer by stiffening lax traffic regulations.

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