BERHAMPUR: Although there are roads that link five villages of Kalipalli panchayat in Ganjam district with Gopalpur, locals have to rely on a boat to reach the beach town. There are over 10,000 families who reside in Haripur, Ravkaturu, Bondora, Basanaputi and Upalaputi villages under Kalipalli panchayat and they depend on Gopalpur town for their daily requirements. There are concrete roads in the panchayat that connect Kaliabali Chowk and Narayanapur Chowk, which are five kms and three kms away respectively from Gopalpur. These villages are hardly six kms away from Gopalpur by road but the 500 metres of backwaters of the sea separate them from the town.
The concrete roads in Kalipalli panchayat are replete with potholes as a result of which, there is no public transport available on the stretches. In the absence of public transport, villagers, who have their own transportation facility, can reach Gopalpur while the rest depend on the boat. They have to walk for two kms till Kaliabali Chowk and Narayanapur Chowk from where they get autorickshaws to Gopalpur. However, it hardly takes 10 minutes to cross the backwaters in the boat and reach Gopalpur.
Even as villagers have been demanding a bridge connecting the villages to Gopalpur, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The local administration had planned to construct a bridge a decade back but there has been no headway.Gopalpur NAC administration leased out boat service on the backwaters to one J Rao in lieu of `40,000 a year a decade back. However, the NAC officials never checked condition of the boat being used or safety precautions being taken for the passengers.
Instead of using an oar, Rao uses a rope to ferry passengers to the banks. The rope is connected between Haripur and Gopalpur. Rao and his helper G Dandasi hold it to drag the boat to the shore. He charges `5 per head and in a day, he ferries 200 persons. The number increases during festive occasions when people have to visit the beach and temples in Gopalpur. During the Gopalpur Beach Festival, a majority of people prefer using the waterway to avoid traffic congestion on the roads.
Since there is no jetty at both the ends, the boat is parked some metres away from the banks and sand bags have been placed in the water to help passengers get down. Executive Officer of Gopalpur NAC, US Sethy, said steps will be taken to ensure safety of passengers during the boat ride.