SAMBALPUR: It took 75 years of Independence for banking service to reach the people of river island Kud Gunderpur under Dhankauda block with the opening of a customer service point (CSP) in the gram panchayat on Monday.
This island was connected with the mainland after construction of a bridge over Mahanadi river in February last year. The CSP of Utkal Grameen Bank has been opened by Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) with support from Sambalpur district administration.
Block development officer (BDO) of Dhankauda Basanta Hati said earlier, inhabitants of the island were dependent on Goshala, Burla and other nearby places for banking services and hence, faced a lot of difficulties. The CSP has resolved a long pending problem of the panchayat. It will cater to financial services to around 10,000 population, he said.
Project director (PD) of the district rural development agency (DRDA), Sambalpur Sukanta Tripathy said, Kud Gunderpur was backward in healthcare, education, and communication due to lack of connectivity to the mainland.
Kud Gunderpur, located around 35 km from Sambalpur town, is a patch of land surrounded by Mahanadi. The panchayat comprises six villages of Kud Gunderpur, Kud Tabda, Kud Jampali, Kud Amlipali, Kud Mahada and Kud Patakhai. “Since the government is now laying thrust on economic development of the GPs, the CSP was opened here. The villagers would now avail banking facilities like opening of bank accounts, deposit, withdrawal of money to repayment of loans closeby,” he added.