Pandripani (Malkangiri): The residents of Padmapur village in Sindrimal panchayat in Malkangiri block are suffering a lot as the construction of a road to their village was stopped midway two years ago.
The construction of the road connecting the village from the forest department’s nursery on the Malkangiri-Jeypore Road was stopped due to unknown reasons.
Reports said that some families of the submerged Chitrakonda area had shifted to this village about 50 years ago. Now, around 500 people belonging to 83 families of the Kondh community are residing in the village. There is no proper road to the village and problems due to this compound during rains.
Due to the absence of a motorable road, the village does not have transport, education, healthcare and safe drinking water facilities. They are forced to depend on traditional healers as they cannot visit hospitals.
During monsoons they are unable to walk on the village road, said Baraj Golari, Damana Panfi, Hari Khilo, Chandra K. Golari, Dadhia Khilo and others.
They said the village has an Anganwadi, but persons belonging to another panchayat have been appointed there, although the village has qualified women. The villagers have to walk for around 20 km to get subsidised rice and pensions. They have to cross three hillocks to hire an auto-rickshaw or any other vehicle to go to the nearest health centre or government offices.
The situation is worse for pregnant women and the sick. Most of the time, the villagers have to carry them on cots to the nearest health centre as ambulances cannot come to the village, said Rami Khilo, Kamala Khilo, Salai Khara, Gun Pangi, Rukun Khilo, Deo Khara and Bika Khilo.
There are only four deep tube-wells for the 500 plus people of the village and two of them don’t have platforms. A hamlet here named Talasahi gets submerged during the monsoons due to lack of storm water drainage facility.
A concrete road was built in the village years ago, but now it has became an accident zone.
The villagers had alerted the Collector regarding the half constructed road January 7, but no action was taken.