Malkangiri: Normal life was severely affected after passenger launch services to seven panchayats in the cut-off regions of Chitrakonda block in this Maoist-infested district came to a halt following an agitation by motorboat employees Monday.
The employees staged a dharna to press for their six-point charter of demands. Their demands included job regularisation, no further contractual appointments, engagement of more staffers and boats, and full scale payment.
“The agitation will be intensified if our demands are not met,” Parasant Kumar Majhi, Prasant Kumar Jena, Bideshi Goud and Dillip Kumar Dash said.
The Balimela reservoir covering an area of 41,782 acres separates 151 villages in Chitarkonda block from the mainland. The launch service provided by the state government is the preferred mode of communication for the people of the cut-off areas since the private services are more expensive.
However, the strike has left passengers in the lurch. Many people have been left stranded near the spillway launch ghat and are waiting for the resumption of the service to go back home.
They had no prior information about the strike and had left home two days back to make essential purchases and attend to their works. The people are now going through a harrowing time, it was learnt.
They have urged the authorities concerned to resume the essential service as soon as possible.
On the other hand, several people in the cut-off villages are eagerly waiting for the launch service to buy rations and visit hospitals as they cannot afford the private boat service.
Executive engineer of Chitrakonda SN Dash, sub-divisional officer NK Singh and junior engineer P Bhaskar Rao rushed to the spot and tried to placate the striking employees, but the latter refused to relent. PNN
