Bhawanipatna: The construction of a bridge at Janbai across river Gurupriya is considered a historic move for the people in the cut-off region of Chitrakonda block in Malkangiri district.
But the families who had been displaced by the Indravati multipurpose project in Kalahandi district still wait for their turn, said some affected people.
They have been living at places surrounded by water, forests and hills from all sides. They have no access to most of the development schemes of the government and lead a cursed life, said one of the oustees.
Another person said they had to leave their ancestral land to help the drought-hit Kalahandi district but got nothing in return.
However, the oustees have spotted a silver lining in the dark cloud after the inauguration of the Gurupriya bridge. They are hopeful that the state government would realise their plight and take measure.
Indravati multipurpose project is known as one of the largest dam projects of the country. But many tribal villages were cut-off from the rest of the world due to the reservoir. Till date, they seem unwanted for the civil society, political parties and the government. The basic amenities like health, education, communication and nutritional food are still out of their reach. While people here drink the water of river and canal to quench their thirst, they have to cross the river in country boats to meet their day-to-day needs.
According to reports, six panchayats of T Rampur block of Kalahandi district are surrounded by water from all sides. Besides, there are many people who chose to settle down on hilltops after they were deprived of rehabilitation facility elsewhere at the beginning of Indravati project.
A survey report reveals that there are more than 200 tribal villages with a population of about 75,000 in T Rampur block of Kalahandi, Kashipur block of Rayagada, Tentulikhunti block of Nabarangpur and Dashamantapur block of Koraput which have been affected by the project.
Most of the people here belong to SC, ST and Dalit communities and use small country boats to move from one village to another to fulfill their basic requirements. They have to travel from two to 20 km inside Indravati reservoir for their needs. Nearly 300 people have drowned in last 18 years in boat capsize incidents in the reservoir.
The inhabitants of the villages of this cut-off region have now pinned up their hope on the government to bail them out by setting up a bridge like Gurupriya in near future, a report said.
PNN
