KORAPUT: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday assured the members of Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) and former Malkangiri MLA Nimai Charan Sarkar of providing road connectivity to the cut-off villages of Kolab region.A 20-member PRI team, along with Koraput MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria, met Pradhan in New Delhi. They discussed the proposal of constructing 1,200-metre bridge at Sindhiput jetty and a flyover road near Koraput railway station.
"The Union Minister has accepted our proposal," Sarkar said. Pradhan submitted a letter to Water Resource Minister Nitin Gadkari and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in this regard. "The Minister had a telephonic conversation with ECoR Chief General Manager to take necessary steps in this matter," he added. Sources said Pradhan had sent a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to deposit the required funds with the Railways for construction of seven subways between Koraput and Machkund railway station under Kirondole-Kotawalsa railway line.
More than 50,000 people from seven panchayats of Nandapur, Lamtaput and Koraput blocks are disconnected from the mainland since the inception of Kolab project. In the absence of subways, the frequency of accidents has gone up.The team told Pradhan that the State had neglected the cut-off villages of Kolab reservoir. The team comprised Tikarpada panchyat Sarpanch Dhanurya Badnayak, Suku panchayat Sarpanch Govind Majhi and 20 others.