Joda: Even 70 years after Independence the people of Jankasahi, a village of Anseikala panchayat under the Joda block in Keonjhar, have no basic amenities. All development schemes and programmes are dreams for them.
The tribal village, 12 km from block headquarters, has 200 families. Jankasahi is one of the scores of villages close to industrial units and mining companies, but paradoxically, the areas and the people have remained backward.
The livelihood of most tribal residents is agriculture, animal husbandry and daily labour.
This correspondent found the tribal village miles away from development with no road connectivity and its residents leading a miserable life. None in the village has been provided houses under IAY or Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana.
As the administration did not build a road to the village, the villagers laid one, said villagers Madhu Munda, Kalicharan Munda and Basingh Munda.
“During the rains our problems multiply as the road is unusable. No ambulance can enter the village. Patients have to be carried on cots to motorable roads,” they said.
While nearby areas with mining operations and industrial units have electricity, it is still a dream for these people. People use oil lamps and lanterns at night. Locals said the government had initiated efforts to electrify the village 10 years ago, but it was abandoned.
Officials conducted a survey and power distribution gadgets were fitted in houses. But they are unused as there is no power.
Children said they face a lot of difficulty at night studying under oil lamps. Padmini Munda is an educated woman, but she said that she could not pursue studies as the village did not have electricity.
ASHA Sumitra Munda, narrated the difficulties of taking pregnant woman to Basudevpur hospital at night. In emergencies deliveries are carried out under oil lamp lights. Elephants make life more miserable for residents in the darkness.
Kalicharan Munda said, “Villagers appealed many times to the administration for electricity, but nothing was done. The collector keeps giving us assurances.” Gura Munda, another resident, said that none in the village had got houses under IAY or BPGY.
Collector N. Tirumala Nayak said that electrification of 45-non-electrified villages was completed. “A company was awarded the contract to energise 6,000 hamlets in the district in 2016. But only 200 hamlets were electrified,” he added.
PNN
