Baliguda: Fed up with the apathy of the administration’s failure to construct a concrete road connecting their village, villagers of Jakeripada under Mahasingh panchayat of K. Nuagaon block in Kandhamal district took up the herculean task of constructing the road themselves.
Everyone in the village right from small children to elderly persons joined hands and took upon themselves the responsibility to construct the road after the administration paid no heed to their repeated pleas.
Located just 300 metre away from National Highway-59 and 6 km from Baliguda sub-division headquarters, the village is home to over 60 families. However, the administration turned a blind eye to the plight of the locals for long despite the fact that they have been suffering due to the absence of a motorable road.
It was hard for the elderly as well as children to walk on the only rough stony road connecting the village. During the monsoon, their woes increase manifold as the road turns muddy and is sometimes inundated. Even on normal days, the locals are forced to carry their patients on cots/slings as no vehicle, let alone an ambulance or two-wheelers can reach the village.
So, the villagers decided to gift themselves a proper road on the auspicious occasion of Raja. While everyone was busy celebrating the festival, villagers here collected money and constructed a proper road connecting the village. And all this was completed in just a day.
Although, the new road is not metalled or concrete, it is now suitable for walking hassle-free, locals said with smiles on their faces after the day’s hard work. It is a gift for the village on the occasion of Raja, an elderly person said.
Now, the villagers have urged the administration to at least provide them with a CC road as the monsoon is knocking at the door. When contacted, the local BDO Parikhit Jena said he would look into the matter and take necessary steps shortly.
PNN