MALKANGIRI: For over 80 years, Bimala Khinchari of Bodpada village, deep in the cut-off area of Chitrakonda reservoir, has been waiting for this day, when she and her ilk would just walk on to the mainland. July 18 is the date set for it, for the end of decades-long isolation of the region and lead the people to a new life.
Over 30,000 population across 151 villages are waiting with uncontrolled excitement for these four days to pass and the moment arrives when Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik throws open the Gurupriya bridge to the public. The 910-metre Gurupriya is not a merely bridge for the people of the cut-off region, it is new hope for their future.
“We were leading a life of isolation since Independence owing to the village’s unique geographical location but with the bridge, we will be now able to connect to the rest of the world. Gurupriya is dream come true for each and every one of us,” an excited Bimala said, talking to TNIE at her home in Bodpada.
After the bridge connects the cut-off villages with the mainland for the first time since Independence, residents now aspire to lead a better life with an impact on all fronts including education, health, communication, thereby opening a new window for the development of the region which has remained water-locked for decades.
“Earlier, successive governments were using us like vote-banks with blank promises but we are thankful to the Chief Minister for finally making it real,” she remarked.Somnath Pangi, a 25-year-old, too looks expectantly at the future that will bring new opportunities and set in motion fast-paced development in their region. “Connecting us to the mainland, the bridge will actually be our lifeline, boosting economic development by enhancing sources of livelihood and employment. I have already benefitted. I have bought an auto-rickshaw on loan from bank and am looking forward to plying passengers between Bodapada and Chitrakonda as soon as the bridge is inaugurated. I am expecting a daily income of `1500-2000,” Pangi gushed.
For Laxmi Pangi (35), a homemaker, the bridge opens a new life – with unhindered access to healthcare for family members, education of children and improved livelihood for husband and other family members.
“It was a risky affair to inform the security personnel and arrange a boat to shift the pregnant women for delivery at Chitrakonda. The delay was fatal for many women who passed away midway due to labour complications. Now we can visit the Community Health Centre at Chitrakonda as 108 and 102 ambulances will lift us from our doorstep,” she said. Availing better Government’s healthcare facilities has now become easier for us, she added.
It’s no wonder now that residents are waiting with bated breath for the formal inauguration of the bridge that will usher in transformation of the lives that have been wallowing in darkness to this day.