Gandepalli village, about 50 kilometres from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, defies stereotypical village imagery of empty roads, vast expanses of fertile land, and clean air and water. Here, there are more lorries than humans on the main road that measures not more than 15 feet in width. Villagers say there are often minor accidents in Gandepalli that comes under the Kanchikacherla mandal in NTR district. 

One incident, involving the death of a schoolboy on January 3, 2017, left villagers enraged. Around 7 p.m. that day, Krishna Rajesh, 12, went out to get dinner on a cycle. On the way, he was hit by a lorry, leading to instantaneous death. In the police complaint filed the next day, the boy’s father Durga Rao claimed that the lorry involved in the accident belonged to a factory in the village. An FIR was registered against the driver, M. Raju, for alleged rash driving and causing death due to negligence.