BERHAMPUR: Residents of Sudra panchayat under Baliguda block in Kandhamal district had hoped their problems will be addressed soon after the village was adopted by Phulbani MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh. However, the situation has not changed as the village still lacks basic amenities.
The panchayat, comprising 18 Wards and a population of over 14,000, has just one health centre and the doctor posted there rarely visits the facility. The villagers have to walk 17 km to reach the nearest hospital at Baliguda to avail health services. Villages in the panchayat including Kutami, Gudiguda, Laberamba, Kataki, Kajuklapi, Sinapada, Sikati, Gadangi, Gaindi, Ambabadi, Dakadama and Sinjami have no roads and power.
Locals alleged that in the absence of road, villagers are forced to walk in hilly areas to reach Sudra to avail transport facility for Baliguda. The inaccessible villages are visited by political party leaders only during elections. Although the politicians assure of developing the village, they are rarely to be seen after the elections are over, they said.
Though the condition of Sudra panchayat is somewhat better as it is connected by road, still it lacks safe drinking water. The residents of Upara Street and Tala Street depend on only one well, situated at Masani Street of the village. Confrontations among the residents have become a regular affair as the water level in the well has declined considerably.
“The residents, who do not want to get into tiff, are forced to collect water from a half-dried nullah, situated around 1 km from the village”, rued Rampati Malik, Panchayat Samiti member of Sudra.
Expressing his anguish over the callous attitude of the elected leaders and government officials, Malik said despite repeated appeals, no step has been taken to resolve their problems.
Malik said, “After the village was adopted by the MP, the residents hoped their woes would end soon. However, the situation has not changed. The officials concerned say no money has been released from MPLAD fund. The villagers would resort to agitation, if their problems are not resolved soon.” Baliguda block office sources said plans have been prepared to implement different schemes for the villagers in the panchayat.