Launch service to cut-off area will resume soon, CM assures delegation

Muduli led the delegation of 30 panchayat samiti members, Sarpanch and ward members of the region. Launch service has been stopped since August 20

Cut off from rest of the world due to suspension of launch services to 151 villages in Chitrakonda area of Malkangiri district following Maoist threat, a delegation of people’s representatives on Friday met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here seeking his immediate intervention.

Vice-president of Malkangiri Zilla Parishad Bansidhar Muduli said they apprised the Chief Minister of the miseries of about 25,000 people living in 151 villages spread over seven gram panchayats.

All activities of the people in the area have come to a standstill as launch service is the only mode of communication for them. Muduli said the Chief Minister has assured to resume launch service soon.

Muduli led the delegation of 30 panchayat samiti members, Sarpanch and ward members of the region. Launch service to the villages has been stopped since August 20.

The delegation met the Chief Minister after the district administration failed to resume the service from Monday as assured earlier.

The issue was raised in the monsoon session of Assembly by the Congress members. However, there had been no change in the situation. Congress MLA from Chitrakonda Mamata Madhi told this paper that there was no response from the district administration even though she had taken up the issue several times.

Even though launch service has been stopped for the last 10 days, the district Collector is yet to take any initiative to resume it. People of the cut-off area depend on the launch service for their day-to-day requirement including rations, Madhi said and added that health services are the worst affected.

The Congress MLA said that the district administration can supply ration and other essentials to the people through Jalaput route. But no step has been taken yet, she added.

A group of armed Maoists had threatened the launch operators to stop the services immediately or face consequences. The State’s water resources department had been operating six launches in Balimela reservoir since a long time in order to provide communication to the people in cut-off area.

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