BERHAMPUR: Even after 70 years of Independence, development is yet to reach a remote village of Ganjam district. Dhobalingi village under Patrapur block of Chikiti Assembly segment is not electrified, has no healthcare or proper drinking water facility.A muddy road replete with potholes is the only link that connects Dhobalingi with the mainstream. Neither Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana nor Biju Sadak Yojana has reached the tiny village, which houses 18 tribal families with 70 villagers. Surrounded by hills, one has to walk more than 15 kms to reach the village from Patrapur via Tumba-Buratal. On the other side of the village, a road connects Dhobalingi with Badagaon village in neighbouring Gajapati district.
The only time they enjoyed electricity and telecommunication was in 1997-98 when an NGO installed solar panels, WILL phone sets and a piped water supply project in the village. Mangulu Pradhan, a local, said power supply and telephone facility continued till the Super Cyclone of 1999 damaged both the services. Since then, neither the NGO nor the State Government has made an attempt to restore these facilities. The piped water supply, though, is still operational but feeds water to the families only six months in a year. For the rest of the year, they depend on streams flowing down the hills surrounding the village.
The village does have a community room but a small lock hangs on its broken door and it is rarely opened.
Livelihood is also a struggle. Villagers eke out a living from shift cultivation and sustain on crops they produce for nine months in a year. For the remaining three months, their survival depends on gruels that are prepared for forest produce. “The village mostly has elderly people and children as most of the youths have migrated in search of greener pastures,” said another villager, Samir Karji.
Behind some of the thatched houses, stand partially constructed pucca structures. Work orders for these houses were issued to villagers by the State Government under Indira Awas Yojana eight years back. None of these houses has been completed as yet and to get construction materials, one has to walk for at least 15 km.Several times in the past, villagers have suffered from unknown disease. At present, a villager, Surendra Bhuyan, and his five family members are ailing but getting medical help has always been a problem. Medical staff do not visit the village often and there is no health centre nearby. Most of the children suffer from abdominal swelling.
As far as school education and nutrition are concerned, 15 villagers have enrolled their children in an anganwadi school at Kuruguda, which is 5 km away. However, children seldom attend classes. Villagers have to walk for 15 km to reach Tudukabada village where PDS commodities are distributed.