BERHAMPUR: The Ganjam District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has directed the Ganjam Collector to ensure that development schemes reach villagers of Kalyansahi village under Rangeilunda block in the district.
The village, under Gopalpur Assembly segment and which is a stronghold of ruling BJD and its district BJD president and legislator Pradeep Panigrahi, is inhabited by 19 Scheduled Caste families. Four decades back, a group of SC families of Chandapur village settled on a patch of Government land by constructing thatched houses.
The population of the settlement, which later became Kalyansahi village, increased from a few families to more than 100. The villagers lived peacefully till 2013 when Cyclone Phailin ravaged their thatched houses. Some villagers covered their dilapidated houses with polythene sheets and applied for housing assistance under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Apparently, only five villagers - Renu Das, Balia Das, Abhimanyu Das, Kalma Das and Kalara Das- were allotted houses under PMAY and application forms of the rest are still being processed. A villager, Santosh Das, whose house was damaged in the cyclone, said he is managing somehow with polythene sheet on the roof but the situation gets worse during monsoon. He said it is common for snakes and insects to enter the houses during rains. “We have to remain cautious for our children”, Santosh said.
All the families in the village had got work orders for construction of toilets under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan but the work has been left midway by the contractor.
The DLSA took note of the village condition after a report was published in these columns. On Monday, DLSA secretary Bijay Kumar Das directed the Collector, the BDO of Rangeilunda, the ADM (Revenue) and the CDPO of Berhampur to take immediate measures to provide all government benefits to villagers of Kalyansahi and ensure proper implementation of government schemes in the village.