Nabarangpur: Rural connectivity has been one of the focus areas of the both the Centre and the state governments. Crores of rupees are being spent towards improving basic infrastructure like roads and drinking water. However, despite the efforts of the government, 77 villages in the tribal-dominated Nabarangpur district have remained almost inaccessible in the absence of proper roads, a report said.
According to sources, 29 years have passed since Nabarangpur was carved out as a separate district. Even after three decades, these villages have been reeling under backwardness due to lack of proper connectivity.
People in these villages have been suffering inconvenience in every field as communication is the key to facilitate availability of any other benefits.
Various outfits have decried the underdevelopment of these villages cut-off from the road network, pointing out publicity of the government about its development agenda.
Reports said, 38 villages under Chandahandi block had foot tracks for communication in 2016-17; similar was the condition in 64 villages under Jharigaon block; 24 in Umerkote block. It was learnt that a total of 122 villages had only foot tracks for communication in the same fiscal.
The state government had sought report from the district administration about the status of road connectivity in rural pockets.
The administration in its letter to the government dated August 1, 2016 stated that 122 villages are in need of proper road connectivity.
In the last five years, DRDA sources said that 45 of those villages have been connected with roads.
Commuting woes have been persistent in scores of villages in these three blocks where there have been instances of patients and pregnant women being carried on cots even across rivers to reach the nearest hospital.
17 villages under Chandahandi, 33 villages under Jharigaon block and 27 villages under Umerkote blocks have been deprived of roads.
In the current year, five pregnant women were reported to have been carried on cots to hospitals in Umerkote owing to absence of road connectivity.
Some social activists say, BDOs are supposed to monitor development and record basic shortcomings in a panchayat every month. But this is not happening, it was alleged.
They pointed out that people will continue to suffer from all kinds of problems – in availing benefits of food security, pension, healthcare, education as long as roads have not been laid in these 77 villages.
“Roads hold the key to socio-economic development of these rural pockets,” they observed.
