72 years after Independence, this village in Ganjam lurks in darkness

Berhampur: Despite tall claims of the government, a village in Ganjam district is still stuck in dark ages. Be it drinking water, electricity, roads, healthcare or even education, the people of Shiuli village under Jagannath Prasad block of the district are surviving without all basic facilities

As there is no proper road connectivity, 35 tribal families have to cover a distance of 22 km to reach Rudhapadar panchayat to get subsidized rice at Re 1 per kg scheme of the State government.

The villagers reportedly have to walk across a hilly road which passes through dense forest to reach Rudhapadar Panchayat get their ration under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Moreover, they have to finish all their tasks and return back to village before the dusk sets owing to fear of wild animals in the forest.

"We carry bags and baskets with us to bring the goods from the Panchayat. When someone falls ill, we have to carry them to the hospital. In most cases, people die on the way due to lack of roads in the village," said a villager.

Apart from roads, the village lacks proper drinking water facilities, electricity while the elderly persons are yet ripe benefits of several pension schemes of the government.

"There is no road, light, water, school or health facility in our village. Government has never really cared to reach and improve the condition here," said another villager.

Ganjam sub collector, Rajendra Minz feigned ignorance about such problems and assured of immediate steps. "I recently came to know about the issues and will visit the village and take appropriate steps in this regard," he said.

Despite all odds, people in this village vote for their leaders with a hope that things will change some day for them.