You might have heard of Jagannath Mohanty’s popular poem ‘Tuma Pari Chhota Pila Tie’ based on the life of Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das. The poem narrates how Das repaired his bumpy village road with the help of fellow friends.
Setting examples for others, children of Parjanpur Jagannathpur under Sadar block in Keonjhar district did exactly what Madhu Babu had done as a kid. They repaired road connecting Jagannathpur Health Centre and road leading to Ashram Vidyalaya.
With requests for repair of the road failing to move the district administration into action, students finally took the job into their own hands.
Discarding text books, notes, pen and pencil, the youngsters picked up shovels and toiled day-long to repair the road passing through their school. They removed mud from the road and filled it with soil. Also, they filled up the deep potholes along a long stretch of the road.
Meanwhile, children have demanded the administration to repair the road as soon as possible.
Jhansi Rani Nayak, a student said, “I would like to urge the State government to repair the road for our convenience. We had filled road with enough soil but the road got washed away by rain."
Sachin Majhi, another student said “We gave our best while repairing it. However, it was washed away by rainwater. The government should repair the road for the sake of schoolchildren.”
Reportedly, villagers here had been urging the district administration to convert the dirt road into a concrete road or asphalt road. Though the State government is spending huge chunk of money for communication purpose, Jagannathpur residents’ pleas are yet to be heard.
Umakant Tinti, a villager said, “School students get slipped while going to school. Besides, it has become difficult to take a patient to hospital on this route.”
When contacted, Rural Development Project Director assured to look into the issue.