Villagers In Odisha Build Own Road After Govt Snub

Balasore: Where there is a will there is a way and when the famous saying was put to test, locals of Santia village in Jaleswar area of the district came out of it with flying colours by building a 1.5 km long stretch of road by themselves as a mark of challenge.

As per reports, in the absence of a motorable road, people of ward number 10 of Jaleswar Municipality were forced to take the medians of their farmlands to walk to Jaleswar town to avail emergency services.

The locals approached the district authorities on multiple occasions seeking their help to lay a pucca road which would help them connect to the hospital and other important locations in Jaleswar, however, they alleged that it was of no use.

Fed up with the alleged apathetic attitude of the administration, the locals took up the task themselves and it took them around 15 days to make a 30 feet wide road that stretched for 1.5 kms from ward number 10 to the Jaleswar town.

A local engineer, Akshay Kar reportedly helped the locals in the design and blueprint of the road. The road was named after Mrityunjay Kar, late father of Akshay Kar, as a goodwill gesture for his contribution.

The inspiring story of the inhabitants of the area has received applause from all quarters. Sitanshu Senapati, a social activist said, “Even after 70 years of our country's independence, we were deprived of an all season road to our village. Thanks to Engineer Akshay Kar’s initiative, we were able to build a road by collecting donations and assistance from people."

Speaking to OTV, Ajay Kumar Mohapatra, the Executive Engineer of Jaleswar Municipality said, “I have seen the road they have built. It’s a beautiful team work indeed. I have assured them to complete all the formalities to transfer the ownership of the road to the civic body so that it can be concretized."