Elusive Amenities
Channel: VideoVolunteers
Date: 2014-03-20

"We have to travel 5 km on this road to get to the hospital, that too carrying the cycle on our shoulders because it cannot be used on this road. My child has severe fever and we have already traveled 5km like this. It just gets worse and worse day by day" 

Chukan Toppo is one of hundreds of residents of Daitari village council of the Deogarh district, who has to travel on this excuse of road connecting Daitari Bahal village to Brundabanpur village. Community Correspondent Dasarathi Behera reports from Odisha.

The government has various schemes for rural roads development. One of them is the  which ensures all-weather good connectivity to all remote areas and unconnected villages. The road  is nothing short of egregious. 

The 5 km stretch of road has become an arduous task for the villagers who are forced to take this road to get to amenities. This is the only road present in the region which connects the community to all basic yet important services and amenities.

 If anybody falls sick, there is no other way except taking the same road to the nearest hospital in Brundabanpur village, 5kms away. A lot of people have suffered and even died of diseases as common as diarrhoea and fever which can be easily treated. Only if, they had appropriate access to the service. 

15 students from the community have to commute on this road daily. Sometimes they fall in the mud, sometimes their tyres get stuck and often they are late for school which is also affecting their academic results. 

The condition of this route is so bad that no vehicle can traverse on this road. Even cycles have to be carried on the shoulders. The community faces more problems in bad weather, specially monsoons when the road cannot be trodden at all and the community gets trapped in their villages. 

This issue crosses over with access to primary health services and implementation of government schemes. The Prime Minister Village Road Scheme (PMSGY) scheme is one of the biggest, aimed towards rural development. This is not the first report of its poor or faulty implementation of a scheme and unfortunately not the last.

Then why does this story need your help? Because it is important to ensure that the community has access to these services which have taken a lot of time and effort to get into place. For instance, the health centre in Brundabanpur can be just 5km away but the existing path is torturous and acts as an obstacle instead of support. Especially in an urgent situation where time could be critical in determining chances of survival. 

Please call Sangeeta Munda, Viilage Head, Daitari Bhala Council, Deograh District, Odisha on +91-9938119852 and pressurize her to take action on the dilapidated road.