Chitrakonda: Thousands of people live in five water-locked panchayats of Chitrakonda area in Malkangiri district in the absence of communication. The panchayats are Panasput, Andarapalli, Jodamba, Jantri and Gajulumamudi encircled by Balimela reservoir.
Given their miseries, the government intends to launch boat ambulance service to attend to their emergency healthcare service. A boat ambulance was brought to the area a few days ago.
It may be noted here that an 108 boat ambulance had been brought to the Spillway Ghat six months ago, but it has not been pressed into service due to alleged administrative apathy.
The Gurupriya bridge was completed months back to facilitate communication in the cut off areas while an approach road from the bridge to these panchyats is yet to be completed.
A road from Gurupriya to Jodamba is not fit for communication, alleged locals. Their only means of communication are country boats and launch.
“People of the cut-off area depend on the launch service for their day-to-day requirement including rations,” locals said, adding that health services are the worst affected.
Another ambulance was brought to the area, but people seek to know when it will come to their help in emergency time while the other 108 ambulance boat has been lying idle. The staff engaged for the ambulance boat receive salaries without doing any work, locals pointed out.
Notably, the state’s water resources department had been operating six launches in Balimela reservoir for a long time in order to provide communication to the people in cut-off area.
The Gurupriya bridge was a dream project of the state government. Over 30,000 tribals of these villages are cut off from the mainland in 1972 after the Balimela reservoir was created. Since then the villagers have had to cover distances of up to 60 km by boats or launches in waterways from Chitrakonda in the mainland to Jantri, the last ferry point inside the reservoir.
PNN
