Kendrapara: A Class X student of a riparian village has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking ambulance service at his doorstep to ferry his ailing grandmother to a hospital.
The boy Subhasis Malik, a student of Padanipal-based DPS High School at Kalamada Sasan in Aul block, has mentioned in his letter that his octogenarian grandmother has been suffering from dysentery and her condition is serious.
However, he is unable to take his grandmother to a hospital due to lack of road connectivity at his village.
According to reports, the river-locked villages of Kalamada Sasan, Padinapala and Daitaripur under Aul block have no road connectivity.
The locals have urged the district administration many times in the past to construct bridges across the rivers Kani and Kharasrota, but to no avail, it was learnt.
Subhasis also sent copies of his letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the President of India.
About 300 locals led by Rabindra Kumar Das of Kalamada Sasan had filed a petition with the State Human Rights Commission September 28, 2006 regarding the plight of the villagers.
They had stated in the petition that no government official has ever visited the villages as for that they had to cross the rivers on rickety boats.
Due to this administrative neglect, the villagers have remained deprived of government welfare benefits while healthcare, education and other basic facilities continue to elude them, the petition stated.
Later, the then collector visited the river-locked villages and took stock of the problems confronted by the inhabitants.
The administration in its reply to rights panel had stated that the very existence of the three villages was under threat due to the ever changing course of Kharasrota.
The administration had sought Rs 5 crore from the rural development department for constructing a bridge near Kalamada Sasan and Rs 4.4 crore for spur-packing near Padanipal.
SHRC in its order number -5223/OHRC September 23, 2009 directed the administration to construct a bridge and a PMGSY road to the villages of Kalamada Sasan, Padanipala and Daitaripur, where about 10,000 people depend on rickety boats.
Tender process for the bridge construction has been completed but the work is yet to start as the design is yet to be approved by the state government, said Aul MLA Debendra Sharma. PNN