Chikiti: Even in the era of rapid urbanisation there are villages without basic facilities like motorable roads, electricity, safe drinking water, telephone and schools.
A glaring example of this is tribally-predominant Debipur in Chandpur panchayat of Chikiti block in Ganjam district.
Located in a hilly region, this village of 25 tribal families, and a population of 120, faces total neglect.
The absence of a motorable road is the biggest obstacle to development here. The inhabitants have to trek barefoot through the forest to reach the panchayat and block headquarters.
All government schemes for the construction of a road have failed in this village. The worst sufferers are the elderly who have to walk through stony patches for their monthly pension.
The same is the condition of schoolchildren who have to cross a forest to reach the nearby school for primary education. Pregnant women and the ill have to go through mega problems.
On occasions, the villagers have tried to attract the attention of the administration to construct a road in the village, but their pleas fell on deaf ears, said Sahadev Dalei, Narsingh Janhi, Bikash Dalei, Khetri Nayak, Sagar Nayak, Kura Dalei, Abhi Nayak, Bidya Dalei and others.
With no Anganwadi, not a single health worker has ever set foot in the village. Pregnant women and newborns do not get government supplied nutritious food.
With no safe drinking water the villagers have to depend on a tube-well which yields only fluoride contaminated water, making themselves vulnerable to kidney ailments.
The poor condition of the road has also blocked electricity supply to the village. Most tribals here depend on forest produce for their livelihood as they have no other source of income.
Additional BDO Ramakant Sahu admitted that there are no basic facilities in the village due to the lack of a proper road.
He assured that he would put the plight of the villagers before the district administration, and request the construction of a road under the MGNREGS scheme.
Road connectivity will help in bringing development to the village. So we demand that the administration should look into this, and provide a motorable road to the village, said Sarpanch Manoj Kumar Sahu.
PNN