Keonjhar: In the heart of Keonjhar district, a once-thriving village has faded into near oblivion, with only one family left behind as others fled years of administrative neglect.
Tankagadia, a small village under Gedama panchayat in Hatadihi block, was home to around 10 to 12 families just 25 years ago. Today, it shelters only Krushna Chandra Das and his family. Das lives with his four sons — Dinabandhu, Jagabandhu, Krupasindhu and Sukanta — and their family members, the last residents of a place long abandoned by both its people and the government.
Residents had spent years appealing to local authorities for essential amenities such as a motorable road, clean drinking water and electricity. But repeated pleas were met with silence. Frustrated and left without hope, families of Subhash Jena, Yudhisthir Biswal, Krushna Biswal, Kunia Biswal, Bharat Biswal, Dharani Mohanty, and Babaji Das gradually moved away, settling in nearby Gedama and Mudulisahi.
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In 2012, the district administration declared Tankagadia as an ‘Adarsh Gram’, or model village, a designation meant to bring holistic development to rural communities. Officials visited the village, held public meetings, and promised transformation. Yet nothing changed.
“No road was built. No electric poles came up. The tube well is now broken, and we fetch drinking water from far away,” said Subashini Das, Krushna Chandra’s daughter-in-law. “During the rainy season, we are completely cut off. Our children struggle to attend school, and if someone falls sick, reaching a hospital is nearly impossible.”
The family is forced to walk across uneven hilly terrain or tread narrow farmland levees to reach nearby habitations. With no road connectivity, their link to the outside world remains as fragile as their hope.
Former sarpanch Narahari Chakra, who served during the village’s recognition as a revenue village in 2007–08, said Tankagadia was once earmarked for development. “After the village was declared a model village in 2012, the then sub-collector assured us that all basic amenities would be provided. But the administration soon lost interest,” he said.
Anand Mohanty, another former sarpanch, blamed land disputes for the lack of progress. “Many villagers owned ancestral land along the proposed road route. With no agreement on land acquisition, the project stalled,” he said.
The Das family now lives in isolation, with no immediate neighbours, no health services, no functioning infrastructure, and little sign of change. The silence from authorities over the years has become deafening.
When contacted, Hatadihi Block Development Officer (BDO) Ranjan Kumar Parida said the administration would review the current condition of the village and take necessary steps. For now, the last family in Tankagadia waits — not just for development, but for recognition that they still exist.
PNN
