The government scheme has not reached Patpani village, located in the forest of Tikrapara village panchayat in Komna block of Nuapada district. The residents of this village are completely deprived of basic amenities even after so many years of independence. After the brutal murder of a teacher in this once Maoist-infested village, most of the people left the village in terror, but some families are still living on this mountain peak, trusting their fate. While no administrative officer has visited this village, which is 20 km from the block headquarters and 15 km from the panchayat, for many years, today Komna Bidiyo Puruth Samal, along with block and panchayat employees, suddenly reached there and met the villagers and understood their plight. According to the villagers, ambulance service has become a dream come true for them, as the village does not have a paved road.
For emergency treatment or delivery, patients have to be carried on a stretcher to Kamkeda village, crossing a 4-km-long forest road, and from there they go to the Indekomana Hospital. Therefore, they have demanded the construction of a paved road from Kamkeda to Patpani. In addition, many villagers like Hiradayi Majhi, Khageswar Majhi, Kavita Majhi, and Sumati Majhi have not yet received their voter ID cards. Since they have to climb the hill to Anupgarh center to cast their votes, they have requested that their voting arrangements be made at the Kamkeda Vidyalaya polling station, which is their main transportation hub.
Despite the government’s current housing scheme, many families like Vikram Majhi, Benudhar Majhi, and Shanti Majhi are still living in mud houses and are running a rented house, as the village does not have its own anganwadi house. The village does not have an electricity connection, and the solar-powered lights and drinking water pumps installed a year ago are out of order due to lack of maintenance. The village pond dries up during the hot summer days, so there has been a demand for its restoration and excavation. In addition, the local school has been closed due to a lack of a sufficient number of students, and the elderly have to walk a difficult path to the Tikrapara Panchayat office to get food items and old age allowance. After listening to these serious problems of the villagers, the Community Development Officer has promised to pay special attention to them and resolve them on priority.
