Malkangiri: People in tribal-dominated villages under Kalimela block in Malkangiri district had lived a life of horror, panic and fear when Maoists ruled the roost.
A kind of fear was discernible on the faces of innocent people of these Maoist-infested villages. People’s representatives, government officials, contractors, businessmen and even teachers did not dare reach these villages fearing Maoists.
However, the scene has completely changed for the better in these villages. With development activities slowly picking up, the murky days are now only remembered as mere things of the past by tribals of Marigeta, Tekagura, Colony-ABC, Kodigandhi under Bagigeta gram panchayat and other villages under Kalimela block.
Ask the villagers to recount those days when the area was known as an edifice of Red rebels, they have innumerable goose bumps-giving stories to tell.
“The Maoists had made our lives not worth living. A kind of unknown fear used to cramp our styles. For years together we totally forgot smiling,” some recounted with the same fear they had when the ultras were terrorising the people in the area.
“We could hardly guess when the camouflage-donned firearm- wielding left wing extremists swoop down on our villages. Whenever they came, they had their own proclaimed pronouncement,” some others said.
“A common occurrence during those days was getting beaten up at ‘praja courts’. The Maoists would pick some from amongst us as soft targets to vent their anger they harboured against the police. In the name of ‘police informer’, they had even killed many of us. Tribal leader Somnath Madkami was such a soft target,” they added.
However, now, these villagers have started picking up the threads of normal life again. They ascribe all this to the developmental activities now going on in their villages.
Kalimela market, used to be deserted due to Maoist curbs, is now buzzing with activities and shoppers. Hundreds of people are now thronging the market to buy and sell vegetables, clothes, utensils and many more.
Those who had left the villages have started returning to their homes. Use of mobile, banned by rebels in these villages, is back. The typicality of merrymaking has returned. On any evening, the villagers, both men and women, can be seen singing and dancing in flocks, which they missed for years.
“It seems our golden days are back again. We are now able to do what we wish to do. Cock-fighting, an inseparable part of our tradition, is back too to amuse us,” say Badigeta sarpanch Irma Kabasi, Adama Raba and some villagers of Marigeta. For all these changes, the villagers have the government to thank for.
“Because the government has accorded importance to our area and undertaken various developmental projects, our lost happiness has returned. We, the villagers, have developed courage to turn our back on them,” said elated Sahadev Matam, Sadan Burudi and some other villagers of Tekaguda.
PNN
