BERHAMPUR: The pathetic condition of people of Kalyansahi village under Rangeilunda block in Ganjam district is testimony to the fact that welfare schemes often elude the poor owing to callousness of officials and public representatives.
The village, under Gopalpur Assembly segment and which is a stronghold of ruling BJD and its district BJD president and legislator Pradeep Panigrahi, is inhabited by 19 Scheduled Caste families.
Around four decades ago, a group of SC families of Chandapur village settled on a patch of Government land by constructing thatched houses. The population of the settlement, which later became Kalyansahi village, increased from a few families to more than 100.
The villagers lived peacefully till 2013 when Cyclone Phailin ravaged the thatched houses. Some villagers covered their dilapidated houses with polythene sheets and later applied for houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
While five residents of the village Renu Das, Balia Das, Abhimanyu Das, Kalma Das and Kalara Das were allotted houses under PMAY, the rest are still in line. A villager, Santosh Das, whose house was damaged in the cyclone, said he is managing somehow with polythene sheet on the roof but the situation gets worse during monsoon. He said it is common for snakes and insects to enter the houses during rains. “We have to remain cautious for our children”, Santosh said.
Santosh’s fear is justified as owing to poverty, both men and women of the village work as daily labourers in stone quarries and construction sites and leave their children at home for almost 16 hours a day.
Though the village is 1 km from Chandapur and 4 km from the block office, it lacks an approach road. “Six years ago, two tube-wells were dug up and a stand post installed in the village. However, the stand post remains defunct forcing the villagers to manage their affairs with tube wells”, said Punia Das, another villager. As if this is not enough, the village does not have an anganwadi centre while only eight families have access to electricity.