Nuapada: Residents of 52 villages across three panchayats – Sunabeda, Soseg and Michhapali—within Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary in Nuapada district are struggling to fulfil their basic needs, as the benefits of several government schemes fail to reach the forest dwellers residing 36,000 feet above sea level.
Reports said at least 60 families from the Paharia community reside in three villages – Koked, Gambharipani and Jogimunda – under Sunabeda panchayat. These villages lack basic infrastructure, such as proper roads and communication facilities. Lack of access to safe drinking water forces the villagers to rely on unsafe water sources. The absence of electricity has turned life miserable for the residents. Lack of schools for children and Anganwadi centres for early childhood education have crippled primary education here. Many of the residents lack Aadhaar and voter ID cards, rendering them ineligible for availing government benefits like ration cards and housing schemes.
Pensions have become a distant dream for the elderly, differently-abled and widows. Some of the families have been living in the sanctuary for generations, but they lack formal land and housing titles, while government assistance continues to elude them. The situation is aggravated by the Aadhaar card system, which has become a significant barrier for these communities to access benefits from government schemes.
Read Also: Traveler’s paradise: Top 10 hill stations in Odisha once must visit
The Chuktia Bhunjia tribal community, also located within Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, is receiving support from Chuktia Bhunjia Development Agency, which is implementing various schemes for their benefit. However, the Paharia and other tribal communities remain excluded from these programmes as they lack Aadhar and other documents meant for availing the benefits. Vulnerable groups, including children, elderly, women and differently-abled often lack the necessary documents to avail government assistance.
Nuapada Collector Madhusudan Das, during his recent visit to the area, listened to the plight of the villagers and promised to address the issues soon. The forest dweller communities are eagerly waiting for the promises to be fulfilled.
PNN
