BERHAMPUR: Nearly two decades into its formation, Gajapati district is still recognised as a tribal-dominated backward district, its natural wealth and undulated topography notwithstanding.The district, consisting of five scheduled blocks and two non-scheduled blocks, was carved out of Ganjam by Biju Patnaik in 1992 with an aim to concentrate on providing better facilities to the tribals. The situation in the scheduled blocks, particularly hilly terrain of Nuagada remains quite grim. Communication is virtually non-existent in Kirama and Anugur gram panchayats, while villages of Kirama, Bhimapur, Ramgiri, Bhurukapeta, Sunderdango, Aasilima, Jarikidua, Dalimbapur, Nidhiguda, Pirikapadar, Patangipadar and Jamaguda of Kirama panchayat have not been covered by an all-weather road. Anugur panchayat faces the worst crisis. Inaccessibility has gone to ensure that even minimum basic needs like education and health remain out of the villagers’ reach. Villages like Nuagaon, Chikilipadar, Patelguda, Tatrand, Kapilipadar and Ooama in the GP are the worst affected. Drinking water remains a distant dream as tube-wells in Dekhapalli are non-functional. The villagers depend on stream or canal water, a reason that can be attributed to the prevalence of water-borne diseases in the district. In August 2010 several people died of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases. On the health front, malnutrition is a scourge they have been dealing with over the years and immunisation programmes fail to reach them. The villagers depend on the community health centre at R Udayagiri, communication to which is pitiable. Janani Express too fails the needy on the ante-natal front in the absence of proper communication facility. No health staff reside in the interior part of Nuagada block and though the matter has been raised in panchayat samiti meetings it has failed to evoke any response.There is no secured livelihood for these villagers with the schemes like MGNREGA failing to provide them with minimum work. Many managed to get just 10 days work. Education has always taken a beating in the backward districts and Gajapati is no exception. Of the 19 government primary and upper primary schools only 11 are functional. The tribal families depend on welfare schools at Jhalarsing and Totrong, where boarding and free education comes as a relief for them.Sirpha Dalbehera, Sarpanch of Anugur, said minimum facilities and basic amenities are yet to be provided for the villagers.
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