Bowing to the pressure of the villagers, a tehsildar had to walk on a slushy road to realize the plight of the villagers. The incident was reported from Nuagaon in Nayagarh district.
According to the villagers, a bridge over the Belapa River, which flows between Sorada and Jagannathprasad villages under Nuagaon police limits, is under construction. They alleged the construction work started two years ago and it moves at a snail-pace.
Because of this inordinate delay, the villagers have been suffering a lot of problems. They have taken the matter up with the officials on several occasions but to no avail.
Fed up with the administration's apathy, the irate villagers staged a roadblock at Sorada Square on Khordha-Bolangir National Highway-57 on Monday, bringing the traffic on the stretch to a grinding halt. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the road.
Upon getting information, administrative and police officers reached the spot and tried to persuade the villagers to withdraw the roadblock. But the villagers demanded that tehsildar Hemant Kumar Nayak should walk up to the bridge to understand the sufferings they are experiencing on a regular basis.
Eventually, tehsildar Nayak walked up to the bridge and took stock of the situation. Later, after much persuasion, the villagers called off their demonstration.
“The bridge collapsed four years ago. The tender for the construction of the bridge was awarded to Pal Construction. Because of the slow pace of construction work, the villagers are suffering a lot of problems, more so during the three months of the rainy season,” said Sorada Sarpanch Fakir Mohan Sahu.
When asked, Nuagaon JE, Srikant Kumar Sahu said, “People will suffer this season only. By the next rainy season, the bridge would have been completed. We have also instructed the contractor firm to lay a temporary road so that people can commute easily.”
When tehsildar Nayak was asked for his reaction, he refused to say anything.