Kesinga: The much-awaited dream of two tribal families, who had been living in miserable condition in a jungle under Kesinga block of Kalahandi for last 38 years, has finally come true. The district administration has put in place basic facilities for them following a direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The CM’s direction come following a report about them in Orissa POST November 24, 2019.
The tribal residents expressed their gratitude to the CM, the block administration and the newspaper after the development.
The administration sank a tube-well for drinking water, built five toilets and laid a temporary road connecting the village to the block office for the two tribal families.
After Orissa POST reported the miserable condition of the two tribal families living in the jungle, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took note of their plight and directed the Collector (vide letter No. 1918) to look into the matter and submit a report regarding their welfare November 25.
Following a directive from the Collector, BDO Bhimsen Sabar, other block officials along with the local sarpanch had visited Pari jungle near Jayantpur village of Kantesira panahayat and got to know of the woes of tribals – Alekh Majhi (40), his wife Radhika Majhi (35), daughter Mita Majhi (13) and mother Kakeya Bewa (65) and Arjun Majhi (35), his first wife Ambika Majhi and second wife Santara Majhi.
They had been living in houses built by the state government in 1982 sans electricity and drinking water and road connectivity. They had virtually remained cut-off from the rest of the world in the monsoon as a creek remains in spate during rainy season.
Their children could not avail education. Alekah’s daughter Mita, who studies in Kantesira High School, had to walk through the jungle for seven km daily to reach her school. Even local health and Anganwadi workers feared to tread in the jungle during daytime fearing wild animal attacks.
Now, villagers were happy to find such facilities.