Basudevpur: Charibatia, a historic village in Balimeda panchayat in Bhadrak district, has been wallowing in neglect. It’s famous due to the fact that Mahatma Gandhi had visited the village in 1927, just three years before taking up the Salt Satyagraha.
He had taken stock of the miserable condition of the people living in coastal pockets of the country where salt farming was the main issue. His visit was aimed at uniting the people to fight against the repressive British rule. Gandhi had waded through Mantei River and spent a night in the village.
He was then accompanied by national leaders like AC Andrews, Mahadev Desai, Kaka Kalekar, Meera Ben, Gopabandhu Das, Harekrushna Mahatab. Despite the miserable condition of the people, most of them – Hari Mallick, Bhutanath Mohanty, Bishnumohan Mohanty, Biswanath Mohanty, Baikuntha Mohanty and Ganesh Mohanty—had donated according to their might. After receiving donations from the people, Gandhi left.
The house where the Father of the Nation had night-stayed is a picture of utter neglect now. People in the area are still suffering from commuting woes in the absence of a bridge across the river. Rickety boats are the only means of communication for the villagers and the journey is always fraught with danger.
Riverbank erosion is another problem for the villagers. The river mouth area has always been battered by tides, causing constant erosion of the banks. The government is not paying heed to the erosion problem, the villagers said.
With continued erosion, the river has advanced towards the village and residents fear that a day will come when it will engulf the entire village.
The saddest thing, the villagers pointed out, is though 90 years have passed since Mahatma Gandhi visited the village no step has been taken to do something to commemorate his visit.
Prashant Mohanty said the development of the village has been given a short shrift. “Our village should be adopted as a model village by the government. The state and Central governments should come forward to promote tourism by setting up monuments for Gandhiji in the village.”
A house built by the British government for tax collection has been in ruins while the road connection to the village is in a bad shape.
“Both the state and Central governments have neglected the historic village,” lamented Niranjan Biswal, secretary of Gandhi Smruti Rakshya Committee.
PNN
