Neglected for 76 years villagers in Odisha make paddy field of a road

JAGATSINGHPUR: As a mark of protest, villagers, including women, of Chotatira in the Titira panchayat of Balikuda block participated in a demonstration while simultaneously transplanting paddy on the two-kilometre-long Odanag to Chotatira village road. The villagers claimed that even after 76 years of Independence, they never saw a proper road.

Sources reveal that Titira panchayat, with a population of over 5000, is the native village of chief whip Prasant Muduli, who represented the Balikuda-Erasama assembly constituency from 2009 to 2019, and later became an MLA from the Jagatsinghpur assembly constituency in 2019. Despite the political connections, little has been done to improve the condition of various village roads in this panchayat.

The two-kilometre Odanag to Chotatira village road, and Badimuli to Badagudipada village road, besides the one-and-a-half-kilometre Ramibila Banamber pitha to Kumbhar Shai road, are in deplorable state. During the rainy season, these roads become hazardous as school-going children face accidents and villagers struggle to access the local hospital or market. Even ambulances and fire brigades struggle to reach people, the protesting villagers said. Home to nearly 250 residents, Chotatira villagers have vowed to boycott the upcoming elections.

“Officials and elected representatives come to our village during elections but do not fulfil their promises to construct proper roads. Since the muddy road is perfect for paddy transplantation, we decided to grow paddy on the stretch,” remarked villagers Umesh Lenka, Kailash Sahoo, and Soumyaranajn Lenka.

Jayaram Das, a Panchayat Samiti member from Titira panchayat, acknowledged that the panchayat had allocated Rs 2.50 lakh for road repair. However, ongoing land disputes among villagers hindered progress on the Odanag to Chotatira village road. Additionally, due to a lack of funds, the renovation of other roads in the panchayat has not yet commenced.

Chairman of panchayat samiti Prakash Chandra Pradhan stated, “The department has already allocated Rs 40 lakh for the renovation of various roads in Titira panchayat, and we are actively working towards the improvement of other roads.”