Semiliguda: Upset over administrative apathy, people of a remote village in Koraput got together and laid a road to their village with their own funds and efforts, setting an example of community effort.
According to reports, over years, people of Lunguli under Semiliguda block of Koraput district had been suffering commuting problem in the absence of a road.
Though the village is just two km from the district headquarters, the administration has turned a blind eye to the commuting issue of the village over years, villagers alleged. The village has a population of 2000.
They lamented that in the absence of road connectivity, the villagers had to take a roundabout route to the panchayat office. This alternative route, a kuchha road, is 6 km from Pakajhola panchayat headquarters.
“For the last 15 years, we have been pleading with the block administration, the MLA, the BDO, for construction of a road and a bridge so that commuting woes will be eased. But nothing was done.
A creek on the outskirts of the village has been a stumbling block,” said villagers. They added that their repeated pleas for a road and a bridge fell flat as the administration did not pay heed to the development.
“We decided to collect money from each house and build the road and the bridge. We realized that if we do nothing on our own, the administration will never come to our rescue,” the villagers added.
Pasi Jani Khara, Laxman Kirsani and Jaga Kirsani led the campaign and collected Rs 100 from each household. They purchased all construction material.
All the villagers, starting from children to the elderly contributed their labour to lay the road and using two Hume pipes across the creek. The villagers are happy as their united efforts removed the commuting woes.
PNN
