PARADIP: Several industrial units are located close to Dhinkia in Ersama block of Jagatsinghpur district but people of the panchayat continue to be deprived of basic facilities. There is no drinking water supply, proper roads and health service in the panchayat is ailing sans doctors. Protesting apathy of the district administration and State Government towards their plight, villagers of the panchayat have now threatened to hit the streets.
Dhinkia panchayat consists of three revenue villages of Dhinkia, Gobindpur, Trilochanpur and two hamlets of Patana and Mahala. The panchayat is surrounded by Paradip refinery project of IOCL and other upcoming major industrial projects.
The Health and Family Welfare Department had set up a primary health centre (PHC) at Dhinkia in 2000 to cater to healthcare needs of 50,000 people of the area. At present, the PHC has no doctors. There was only one assistant surgeon who was transferred earlier this year and no one was has been appointed in his place so far. There is one high school in the panchayat, Sapteswar Vidyapeeth, but it has no boundary wall and other required infrastructure.
Sources said the main road that links Dhinkia to Trilochanpur and Mahala has been severely damaged during monsoon. The road, which has developed potholes and craters, has become a commuter’s nightmare but local administration is yet to repair it.
Even as the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department had constructed a piped water supply project at Abhyachandpur to provide drinking water to people of the panchyat but the project is yet to be made operational.
Houses of as many as 25 Dalit families of the panchayat have not electrified yet.
Even as basic amenities are still a far cry for people residing in the panchayat, industrial pollution is a major concern for them today. Release of chemical effluents and toxic waste has given rise of various ailments among the locals.
Villagers led by panchayat samiti member Debendra Swain have threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike in front of the panchayat office on September 18 if the State Government and local administration do not address the issues soon.