Bolangir: The landless villagers of Kharsabahal village in Bolangir district, who were displaced for the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project, have been pushed to darkness after the district administration rehabilitated them at Barapudagia village without power supply to their makeshift houses. The displaced villagers comprising 15 landless families mostly from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Muslim communities have been rehabilitated on government land. They earn their living by working as daily wagers or by peddling bangles in the nearby villages. Being landless, the villagers have been deprived of government assistance except for a ration card with which they get rice every month. The state government has neither given them any plot to build houses nor announced a big package for them for being landless. The oustees have built makeshift houses on the land at their own cost.
Living in the temporary huts, they are passing through a harrowing time in complete darkness after evening due to a lack of power supply. It has been over a year since they have been rehabilitated but their sufferings do not seem to end. They were not even given solar panels or even a torch to light up their houses. Sources said the first rainwater was stored in the reservoir in July 2023. However, people in many of the villages were in the submergence area were not displaced then. Later, incessant rainfall occurred. As a result, the backwaters of the reservoir gushed into the riparian Kharsabahal, Gadashankar, Dunguripalli, Banchhorpali and Kumiapalli villages.
Alarmed over the development, the district administration hurriedly evacuated hundreds of landless families and rehabilitated them at the hostel of a tribal school at Chudapali, August 2, 2023. The evacuation was so swift that the displaced villagers even failed to bring with them many of their belongings. The state government only announced financial assistance of Rs 3.45 lakh for each family.
Later, the district administration announced that government land at Barapudagia village has been identified for their rehabilitation and shifted the villagers there. It was also announced that the displaced families will be given a housing plot each under Vasundhara Yojana. The villagers were rehabilitated on the government land but the place does not have basic facilities such as a good road, drinking water, power supply or readymade houses to live in. As a result, the villagers constructed houses on their own and started living in the area. Meanwhile, over 10 months have passed since then, but the district administration is yet to ensure the basic facilities for them. The whole area plunges into darkness after sundown. Women are the worst sufferers as there is no pond or any water body in the area.
Children have failed to study sans an Anganwadi centre in the area. The villagers always live in constant fear of wild animals and snakes as the area is close to a forest. Rains further worsen their sorrows. They have lodged several complaints but the district administration is yet to address their pleas. When contacted, Nutan Seth, project director (in-charge) of Lower Suktel Irrigation Project (rehabilitation and resettlement), a final estimate has been prepared for power supply and sent to TPWODC. The RWSS department has also installed two tube wells for the villagers. The rest of their problems will be resolved gradually, he added.
