SAMBALPUR: Residents of Chakarkend village in Bargarh blocked the National Highway-53 for nearly two hours on Saturday, demanding compensation for losses suffered during a severe storm and heavy rains that lashed the area on July 28.
The storm reportedly uprooted a large number of trees within a radius of nearly four km of the village, while strong winds blew away asbestos sheets from several houses. Heavy rains damaged standing crops, created large breaches in agricultural fields and left several patches of farmland covered with sand. Fallen trees also disrupted road connectivity to the village for nearly two days.
While several voluntary organisations from the district had provided cooked food, polythene sheets and essential medicines to the affected villagers, residents alleged that they had received little or no assistance from the government.
According to villagers, the local MLA and district officials including the sub-collector and tehsildar visited the area and assured them that the damage would be properly assessed and adequate compensation provided. However, barring a handful of affected persons who received only Rs 4,000 each, most villagers claimed they did not receive any assistance.
The villagers had submitted a written representation to the authorities concerned seven days ago, seeking immediate disbursement of compensation. However, no steps were taken in this regard, forcing them to stage the road blockade.
On being informed about the blockade, assistant collector Mada Panda and tehsildar Sonali Pattnaik reached the spot and held discussions with the protesters. However, the irate villagers refused to relent and continued the blockade.
Later, sub-collector Prasanna Pandey and district agriculture officer Mamata Tripathy went to the protest site and tried to pacify the agitators. The officials accepted the villagers’ demands and assured them that all their grievances would be discussed and resolved at a meeting on Tuesday.
Following the assurance, the protesters lifted the blockade. However, the villagers warned that they would launch another road blockade if compensation was not provided within 15 days.