Ganjam: Absence of basic facilities in the town such as education, health and road communication has pushed the local residents to the edge. Sources said residents are waiting for the municipal election to vent their ire.
Ganjam NAC is one of the prominent towns in Ganjam district. But when it comes to basic amenities, it is far behind Chhatrapur and Rambha NACs. Since practically nothing has been done to improve the health, education and road facilities despite taking up the issues with the administration on several occasions, the residents are forced to live with the problems.
According to local residents, it has been long since the town received NAC status. But it has not progressed as it should have had. “Due to administrative inertia and lack of will power, the NAC has been struggling with dilapidated roads. We don’t have even a Kalyan Mandap to hold social functions. A rest shed for commuters and a public toilet are also in our wish list,” said the residents.
Foundation stones for a rest shed and public toilet were laid at Bad Bazaar August 31, 2015. Six years have passed since then, but work on these two facilities is yet to start. A budget of Rs9.5 lakh was sanctioned from backward regions grant fund (BRGF) to carry out the construction work.
Similarly, the foundation stone for a Kalyan Mandap was laid beside the Odia Dhamana Sahi road. Its fate is no different from that of the rest shed and public toilet. The construction of a new Aahaar centre is yet to be completed. While work on some projects is yet to be started, some others have been left half-constructed.
With these projects hanging fire, resentment among local residents is brewing. The residents of the town have already decided to teach a lesson to the authorities in the coming municipality election.
At a time when the government is claiming that it has been giving priority to the basic problems of people, the situation in Ganjam NAC is telling a different story.
All attempts to contact the executive officer of Ganjam NAC Ronit Kumar over his mobile phone for his reaction failed.
Speaking on the issue, NAC Yuva BJD president Sudhir Kumar Padhi said the MLA has been apprised of the problems of the town. “The half-constructed projects will soon be completed and the work on the other projects will also begin,” he said.
PNN