Soro: The residents of a Mulisigh village under Soro block in Balasore district chose a unique and creative way to expose the failure of authorities to repair a road in the area Sunday morning.
Villagers in Reshipora Budgam, some 35 kilometres from the district headquarters office, have planted paddy saplings as a mark of protest on the one km long Pokharimundal road to highlight its poor condition.
The unprecedented protest did not just end there – the villagers have taken it to the social media by uploading photographs of the protest.
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“This is a silent protest to seek answers from the administration. If we had blocked the road instead, it would have only added to the problems of public,” Anil Kumar, a resident said. “Thanks to the social media, everyone now knows about it,” added Kumar.
Residents said the rainwater and leakage from the water pipes gets accumulated on the road making it impossible to walk. “Usually it should take 15 minutes to reach at the panchayat office but because of the poor road condition, it takes more than an hour to travel the distance,” Sanjit said.
The road was constructed in 2002 by laying a layer of soil. But after 18 years, the district administration was unable to construct the road properly.
It is yet to be completed owing to which commuting on the road has become a nightmare for villagers, patients and students.
Some school children too joined in the protest and planted paddy saplings on the slushy stretch of the road. They said this was a silent protest against the apathy of the administration towards their plight.
PNN
