BARIPADA: The tribal-dominated Hudisahi village in Kaptipada block of Mayurbhanj district is untouched by government. Literally. Seventy-two years after Independence, the village inhabited by 120 tribal families has no pucca road, drinking water supply or healthcare facilities. Located 17 km from Kaptipada town, Hudisahi is deprived of basic amenities.
While the villagers eke out their living as daily wage workers, some families earn a livelihood by selling sal leaves and stitching leaf plates. Lack of a bridge over Kaniabuda canal has posed a major hurdle for all-round development of the village which remains cut off from the mainstream during rainy season. The locals alleged that no official ever visited the village and enquired about their condition.
Similarly, the inaccessible area makes healthcare facility a distant dream for the villagers. Sans road connectivity, 102 and 108 ambulance vehicles never reach the village. In cases of emergency, they carry serious patients and pregnant women on slings for two km till Haldiasahi which has a motorable road to Thakurmunda and Kaptipada hospitals. There have been incidents of patients succumbing on the way to Haldiasahi.
“There is no tubewell or drinking water supply system in our village. Consumption of contaminated canal water poses a serious health hazard for the villagers. Local quacks and tantriks take advantage of the situation. Frequent interruptions in power supply have also added to our woes,” said a villager.
While the anganwadi centre runs from a thatched shade with no wall, the village primary school has no basic facilities for students. Mid-day meals are being served at a dilapidated house used for kitchen in unhygienic condition.
Seta Banra, a resident of the village, said, “We don’t send our children to higher educational institutions at Sarat and Bhandar which are located 14 km from the village. It is only during elections that villagers get to see politicians and some Government officers who accompany them. Promises of development are made and forgotten.”
Expressing his dissatisfaction over the district administration’s apathy towards the village, Ward Member Singhray Purty said, “Though the matter was brought to the notice of local administration on several occasions, it didn’t yield the desired result.”Block Development Officer Rabindra Kumar Mallik, who recently assumed the charge, said he will visit the village and initiate development works soon.