Development eludes village near Keonjhar

Bhubaneswar: Kabitra, a village only three kms from district headquarters town of Keonjhar, is a perfect example of so near yet so far as the village lacks basic amenities like roads, drinking water, school and healthcare facilities. Fed up with years of government neglect, residents of the village have decided to boycott the coming Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
“Enough is enough. We have seen several governments coming and going but the condition of our village is same as it was years back. The last development work was done in the village probably in the 70s when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister. We have lost faith on the system and decided not to cast our votes,” said Samarendra Charan Das, a senior citizen of the village.

The village that comes under Keonjhar assembly constituency has around 3,000 voters. The villagers had also boycotted the last municipality elections, before delimitation, but it had little impact on political parties and their candidates.

The village was under Keonjhar municipality till 2014 but after delimitation it came under Bodapalasa panchayat. But neither fruits of the development schemes of the municipality nor that of panchayat reached the people of the village.

“The election is nothing but a farce. Candidates buy votes by giving money, liquor and mutton. There is no political commitment to develop the village. Politicians even don’t bother that the total village is boycotting polls,” said Girija Shankar Panda, another villager.

Because the village is close to Keonjhar town, villagers do not feel the need of MGNREGS job cards and lack of healthcare facilities as they get it from the town. “But it does not mean that the village will be deprived of basic facilities,” said Purna Chandra Panda, a 55- year-old villager.

Sarpanch of Bodapalasa panchayat Janmajay Rana, said, “There are plans to construct roads and also provide drinking water to the village. Keonjhar Medical College is coming up nearby and it will cater to the healthcare needs of the villagers. A patch of concrete road has already been constructed.”