Basic amenities elude Swabhiman Anchal residents
Koraput: Six years after construction of the Gurupriya bridge in Malkangiri district’s Chitrakonda block, which connected 151 villages in the cut-off area to the mainland and was declared Swabhiman Anchal (region of pride), several villages in the area continue to grapple with lack of basic amenities like roads, electricity and water.
Villages like Chikatpali under Ralegada panchayat are examples of this struggle. The village, comprising two hamlets with about 40 households, has no road connectivity, electricity, anganwadi centre, or school. Villagers depend on mountain streams for drinking water and use horses to transport goods due to the absence of proper roads.
“We rely on stream water for our daily needs. A few villagers own motorcycles, but most depend on horses for transportation,” said a resident of Chikatpali. The nearest anganwadi centre is located at Tatipar, around 3 km away, further compounding the villagers’ hardships.
The situation in Chikatpali is not an isolated case. Scores of villages in the Swabhiman Anchal face similar issues, leaving residents to lead a difficult life despite the region’s symbolic transformation into a “pride region”.
While the Gurupriya bridge, inaugurated by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik in 2018, was hailed as a lifeline that connected the disconnected and ushered in promises of development, the reality paints a different picture. Passenger launches and boat ambulances continue to operate, as road connectivity remains a distant dream for many villages. The spillway ghat area, visible from the bridge, serves as a testament to the region’s incomplete development.
Acknowledging the challenges, additional programme officer (Chitrakonda) Ucchaba Giri said, “The rural works department has initiated a road project for Chikatpali, prioritising its completion to alleviate the difficulties faced by the villagers”.
He said some inaccessible villages remain in such conditions. Efforts are on to connect these villages with all-weather roads. “Development work is being expedited in remote areas, and the results will be visible soon,” he said.
Villages like Chikatpali under Ralegada panchayat are examples of this struggle. The village, comprising two hamlets with about 40 households, has no road connectivity, electricity, anganwadi centre, or school. Villagers depend on mountain streams for drinking water and use horses to transport goods due to the absence of proper roads.
“We rely on stream water for our daily needs. A few villagers own motorcycles, but most depend on horses for transportation,” said a resident of Chikatpali. The nearest anganwadi centre is located at Tatipar, around 3 km away, further compounding the villagers’ hardships.
The situation in Chikatpali is not an isolated case. Scores of villages in the Swabhiman Anchal face similar issues, leaving residents to lead a difficult life despite the region’s symbolic transformation into a “pride region”.
While the Gurupriya bridge, inaugurated by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik in 2018, was hailed as a lifeline that connected the disconnected and ushered in promises of development, the reality paints a different picture. Passenger launches and boat ambulances continue to operate, as road connectivity remains a distant dream for many villages. The spillway ghat area, visible from the bridge, serves as a testament to the region’s incomplete development.
Acknowledging the challenges, additional programme officer (Chitrakonda) Ucchaba Giri said, “The rural works department has initiated a road project for Chikatpali, prioritising its completion to alleviate the difficulties faced by the villagers”.
He said some inaccessible villages remain in such conditions. Efforts are on to connect these villages with all-weather roads. “Development work is being expedited in remote areas, and the results will be visible soon,” he said.
