Junagarh: Residents of Chhoriagad and Sanafurla villages under Junagarh block in Kalahandi district have been demanding the repairing of a road which they use on a frequent basis. However, their appeals fell on deaf years. Fed up with the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities, the villagers took an innovative method to voice their protests.
The villagers Thursday morning planted paddy saplings on the one-kilometre long Chhoriagad -Sanafurla road to highlight its despicable condition. The road is situated some 35 kilometres away from the Kalahandi district headquarters office. They went a step ahead then and posted pictures of their protest on various social media platforms.
“This is a silent protest to seek answers from the administration. If we had blocked the road, it would have created problems for others,” Anil Kumar, a villager said. “Thanks to the social media now everyone knows about our misery,” added Kumar.
Residents said the rainwater and leakage from water pipes floods that particular stretch of road making it impossible to walk on. “Usually it should take 15 minutes to reach the block office but because of the poor road condition, it takes more than an hour to travel the distance,” Sanjit another villager said.
The road was constructed in 2012 with just a murram layer. However, till date it has not been transformed into an asphalt road in spite of assurances by the district officials. Eight years on since the first layer the flight of the people using the stretch is as bad as ever.
Some school children too joined in the protests and planted paddy saplings on the slushy stretch. They said this was a silent protest against the apathy of the administration towards their plight.
PNN
