Malkangiri: The inhabitants of Suapalli, a fringe village in the Swabiman Anchal of Malkangiri district, have a feeling of living in the ‘dark ages’. They say, 73 years have passed since Independence, but they have still been lacking basic amenities like connectivity, safe drinking water and education.
Though they belong to Odisha, they have to depend on neighbouring Andhra Pradesh for all their daily activities. Surprisingly, they all speak Telugu, instead of Odia.
The village is in Chitrakonda block, a part of Swabhiman Anchal (earlier known as cut-off region). The region was renamed after the Gurupriya bridge was commissioned to pave way of connectivity and hasten development.
A Rs 100-crore package was announced for the development of the region. Lack of road communication with mainland Odisha had kept Swabhiman Anchal, the erstwhile cut-off area of Balimela reservoir, underdeveloped and made it a safe haven for Maoists for decades.
The Gurupriya bridge connected this cut-off area with the mainland in 2018.
Now, the government has been making all out efforts to fast track development in the region under security cover. Three BSF camps and two new police stations have been set up in the area so as to tackle left wing extremism.
Suapalli village in Ralegoda panchayat is encircled by hills. The village is accessible only after negotiating with three to four hills.
After traveling from Chitrakonda to Sarakubandha, there lies Ralegoda panchayat. Thereafter, one has to pass through several villages on the Odisha side and then some others in Andhra Pradesh before crossing a river to reach Suapalli.
A population of 300 belonging to 70 families lives in the village. Crossing the river is routine for them in the absence of road communication.
Besides, safe drinking water is a dream for the residents as the Swajaldhara Yojana has not been implemented. The villagers draw water from a stream by laying a pipe. They have spent their labour and money for the project.
A strange situation prevails in the education sector. The government has built a toilet for a non-existence primary school in the village.
Villagers Penaray Madkami, Apprao Madkami, Rambanu Madkami and Gana Madkami said some children of the village go to schools in Andhra Pradesh while some others stay in residential schools. The village is deprived of an Anganwadi centre. While the government has laid stress on sanitation, the villagers lack toilets as the Swachh Bharat Yojana has not been executed in the village.
They pointed out that as the village is 4 km away from the panchayat headquarters, the villagers have to depend on Korukunda in Andhra Pradesh.
Sadly, the residents are not well versed in Odia language. They only speak Telugu.
“While going to Korukunda, we have to risk our lives crossing the river. Patients and expectant mothers are carried on cots to nearby the hospital in case of emergency,” the villagers said.
Their rations are distributed at another village, Alampakka.
They said that though they had drawn the attention of the administration several times in the past about their problems, no step has been taken to sort them out.
Our correspondent tried to contact Block Development Officer Lariman Kharsel over phone, but he was not accessible.
PNN
