ANGUL: Locals of Betara, Kandhakoile and Sitikoile under Saradhapur panchayat, situated 35 km from Angul, staged dharna in front of the Collectorate here on Friday demanding road connectivity to the villages. The agitators, which included women, alleged that in the absence of a motorable road, residents of Betara are forced to cover around five km on foot to reach the panchayat headquarters and Antulia road. The locals often run into wild animals, especially elephants, on the way.
“Due to lack of road, we are facing great distress during health emergencies. While several schemes have been launched by the Government to provide rural connectivity, our village is yet to get a road,” said a villager of Betara.Despite repeated requests, the district administration is yet to provide road link to the village, the agitators claimed.
Levelling similar allegation, villagers of Kandhakoile and Sitikoile said several missives to the authorities concerned for a 12-km road from Manikjodi to Limbutaila have yielded no result.SUCI leader Manas Pal said there is a glaring difference between the Government’s claims and realities on the ground. “Without road connectivity, the rural populace is suffering. The State Government should fulfil their demand at the earliest,” he added.
Earlier on the day, residents of the three villages took out a protest rally before staging the demonstration. They later withdrew their strike after the district administration assured to convene a meeting over their demand soon.Collector Basudeb Satpathy said a meeting will be convened on December 21 to discuss the demand of the villagers.