Bridge over troubled waters: Project to link Gadchiroli’s remote areas

Nagpur: Through an innovative development project which will serve a dual purpose — conservation and road connectivity, the Gadchiroli district administration and Zilla Parishad have joined hands to ensure that the remotest hamlets do not get isolated during the monsoon.
Around 32 villages in Gadchiroli have been earmarked for a ‘check dam-cum-road’ project on nullahs and rivurines which get flooded during the rains, disconnecting the hamlets for days and disrupting the normal lives of villagers who are already hit by poor infrastructure.
Every year, the district administration struggles to extend aid and assistance to villages cut off from the main stream due to flooded nullahs and rivurines.
The lack of development due to Maoist insurgency coupled with heavy floods have added to the hardships of tribals in the remote hamlets which are also immersed in darkness due to the snapped power supply.
Collector Dipak Singla, who had toured a few interior locations in the highly-sensitive Etapalli and Regdi few months ago, said the estimated Rs20-25 lakh budget on each check dam-cum-road project would be taken from the district planning committee (DPC) fund. He lauded ZP CEO Vijay Rathod for coming up with the innovative project.
“Through this project, we are aiming for a two-way solution which will connect the unconnected villages which are in the interiors of the remote district. The check dams on the nullahs or rivurines will not only help in water conservation but also serve as roads for vehicles or other road users,” said Singla.
The zilla parishad will finalize the villages where the project will be implemented.
Singla said that out of sheer desperation, villagers risk their lives while trying to cross overflowing nullahs or rivurines during the monsoon. “Tribals use canoes or small boats to cross flooded streams despite the dangerous currents to fetch daily need items or medicines. We are trying to provide an alternative by making check dams which would double up as roads with decent width,” he said.
Singla sounded hopeful of finalizing the finer details of the project soon.