Jajpur: A total of 6,412 villages in Odisha lack road connectivity, according to a report. Among them are 848 situated in Koraput district only. Sources said that the Odisha government along with the Centre is planning to develop commutable roads in these areas. The deplorable fact however is despite independence for over seven decades, many parts of India are still inaccessible due to lack of commutable roads.
Koraput district is a prime example of this. Roads have not come up at many places in the district due to alleged connivance between politicians and unscrupulous government officials. Residents of this district have been deprived of many welfare projects implemented by the Odisha government due to lack of roads. Taking advantage of the situation, neighbouring states are trying to encroach upon land belonging to Odisha by wooing residents of Koraput with various welfare programmes. In the process, inter-state border disputes are flaring up.
AP ministers and officials are visiting Kotia panchayat in Koraput district at regular intervals to woo residents of various villages. Malnutrition deaths of several children in Nagada village have worsened the situation. Locals alleged that the residents of the village frequently lose out on welfare schemes due to the lack of a commutable road.
The matter came to light after the chief engineer (road planning) of Rural Works department directed all superintendent and executive engineers to submit detailed reports on the issue. He also directed his subordinates to identify all habitations that do not have a proper road. The engineers have been asked to find out the distance of the villages from the main road in Koraput district. Instructions have also been issued to prepare a plan for construction of roads in all the inaccessible areas.
The chief engineer issued the order following publication of a report by the Centre-sponsored Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme. It aims at providing road connectivity to unconnected habitations in India.
A place is termed ‘developed’ only when it is connected by at least one road. Once a road is built connecting a locality to other parts of a particular state development occurs in other spheres also.
The Rural Works department in Odisha has taken action promptly after the report on road connectivity in the state was published. Apart from Koraput district, 723 human habitations in Kalahandi, 401 in Balasore, 330 in Rayagada, 357 in Sambalpur, 325 in Angul, 202 in Bolangir, 208 in Bargarh, 130 in Bhadrak, 75 in Boudh, 127 in Cuttack, 154 in Deogarh, 306 in Dhenkanal, 212 in Gajapati, 160 in Ganjam, 122 in Jagatsinghpur, 24 in Jajpur, 82 in Jharsuguda, 207 in Kandhamal, 57 in Kendrapara, 78 in Keonjhar, 120 in Khurda, 183 in Malkangiri, 188 in Mayurbhanj, 85 in Nabarangpur, 198 in Nayagarh, 279 in Puri, 45 in Sonepur and 186 in Sundargarh district lack road connectivity
The Rural Development department in the state Assembly in June 2019 had promised to connect human habitats in various districts of the state by the end of the 2019-20 fiscal. However, as of now, many villages and habitats suffer due to lack of connectivity.
Officials of the department informed that even though many habitats lack roads, efforts are on to connect them with other parts of the state as quickly as possible.
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