Kaliapani: Two years after the hilltop Nagada villages in Sukinda block of Jajpur district grabbed headlines for the malnutrition deaths of children, the District Collector Tuesday visited the villages and assessed development projects launched there by the government.
Collector Ranjan Kumar Das and officials visited the village and interacted with villagers.
The Collector visited the school and talked to the children about their studies. He directed Sukinda BDO Biswajit Das to construct a compound wall around the school and the two Anganwadi centres in Lower Nagada and Upper Nagada villages.
He also pulled up officials for not providing jobs to women who have undergone training in Khali plate, Agarbatti making and apiary.
The Collector also asked Civil Supplies officials to direct the ration dealer to supply provisions to Nagada villagers on time. The Collector assured two youths who had undergone training in driving help to purchase auto-rickshaws.
Sources said conditions in Nagada have remained mostly the same even though the government is spending crores for its development. The only change is a slight reduction in child deaths.
Nagada is a cluster of Lower Nagada, Middle Nagada, Upper Nagada and other villages on a hill. Most of the residents are Juanga tribals.
Although child deaths have come down, the administration has failed to bring down the birth rate.
The government’s announcement that it would make Nagada a model village was limited only to building some houses under the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana and concreting some roads. There is still no power supply in the villages.
The Electricity Department spent crores to install poles in the area, but due to sub-standard work it has not been able to commence power supply.
The Health Department launched efforts to promote birth control among the tribals. However, the failure to reach out to the tribals hit its efforts.
The administration constructed an 8.1 km road at a cost of Rs 12.95 crore from the foothill of Ashokjhar till Lower Nagada. But the road was damaged in a landslide after one and a half years. The roadside drain was buried by the landslide and gravel is now sticking out.
When asked whether a durable road can be built, the Collector said it was difficult as the area is forested.
DRDA PD Manoh Behera, CDPO Sanjukta Kanungo, ADMO Kanhu Charan Nayak and other officials accompanied the Collector.
PNN