Villagers lack TV sets,
clueless about
Narendra Modi
and
Naveen Patnaik
Nagada (Jajpur): The small tribal village of Nagada in the Jajpur district of Odisha got national attention around three years ago for the infamous deaths of 22 kids due to malnourishment.
However three years down the line and after investment of crores by the government many government benefits are yet to reach the village while many policies which have been implemented in the areas, seem to have become defunct. The capital investment in the village proved to be a loss as many of these are not utilised at all, thanks to the poor monitoring of the authorities concerned.
This correspondent visited the remote village to take stock of the situation almost three years post the infamous death incident. Villagers claimed they are still deprived of many central government schemes like Ujjwala and state schemes like Biju Pucca Ghar while the Swachh Bharat Mission seemed to be floundering in the village due to non-utilisation of the toilets constructed under the mission.
“Hardly anybody in our village use gas cylinders to cook. We use forest wood as fuel and cook in our clay stove. Most of us are deprived of Ujjwala scheme while many politicians and local leaders assured us of this help,” said Khama Padan.
Another villager from the Juang tribe said most people have shunned using toilets under the Swacch Bharat Mission due to lack of water.
Dura Padan, a 48-year-old villager said, “Most of us have shunned using the concrete toilets as it does not have any water source. The working water taps have also gone dry and people are now forced to travel outside village for water. Government’s water taps have ditched us too.”
The road that connects the village to Kaliapani, the nearest town to Nagada, has not seen any change. Villagers said it was a kuccha road a year ago and it has not been made into a pucca road.
Interestingly, the major promises of BJD made in their 2014 manifesto like pucca ghar, pucca road and drinking water seem to have shunned the village although there has been increase in the number of pucca houses in the village in the last three years. But many still live in mud clay thatched houses.
On the other side services like Anganwadi workers and medical practitioners regularly visit the tribals to inculcate healthy habits.
Meanwhile, there is no stopping of politicians who are eying the votes of the tribals from the under developed village. Posters of BJD candidates were seen at several parts of the village seeking votes. Many villagers said Congress and BJD have reached out to the villagers for votes while they added that it seemed politicians and political campaigns reach to the area faster than development.
Interestingly, the village which is also deprived of mobile signals, smart phones and television sets also have majority of people who are unaware of who Narendra Modi is and many were also clueless about Naveen Patnaik.