Malkangiri: In government records, Chintalwada is known as a panchayat headquarter of Kalimela block in Malkangiri district, but in reality the office of the panchayat has been functioning under a tamarind tree for the last 10 years, according to a report.
Worse, in the absence of a PDS godown of the panchayat, provisions are stored inside an ANM centre.
Locals have taken up these issues with the authorities concerned, but to no avail.
Chintalwada is a bastion of left wing extremists. Angry over the monopoly of the then sarpanch, the ultras had destroyed the panchayat office and PDS godown by detonating dynamites about a decade ago. Since then, most of the government schemes have been beyond the reach of over 3,500 people of tribal and other communities.
This apart, the panchayat lacks a proper approach road and people get marooned in rainy season in the absence of a bridge across a nearby canal.
On the other hand, the tribals had been using the water of the canal and pits for drinking purpose for several decades. Though the administration had constructed a tank spending lakhs of rupees, the residents are yet to get its benefit. People still use pit and canal water for all their needs.
The panchayat having 12 wards has been divided into five revenue villages and seven hamlets.
While the panchayat office functions under the tree, distribution of PDS rice is carried out from the ANM centre. So, the ANM centre of Chintalwada has been shifted to Kasalguda village which poses problems for the people to get healthcare services. Locals demanded a mini health centre in the village.
Speaking about the other problems that plagued the village, residents said they have been deprived of mobile telephone service in the absence of a mobile tower in the panchayat. The students of a high school in the village face trouble as the number of teachers is inadequate, they added.
Though Poteru irrigation canal passes through the panchayat, its water doesn’t reach the upper catchment areas. Farmers in upstream regions still depend on rainwater for cultivation. The district administration should take measures to set up an anicut near Kapalguda forest for irrigation of about 4,000 hectares of farmland, village head Shyamsundar Guta and sarpanch Pade Madhi said.
They also demanded immediate construction of the panchayat office and PDS godown and renovation of the local Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra. PNN
