Mayurbhanj (Odisha), Dec 19 (ANI): Development is still a far cry in several villages of Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. Even as the state government has introduced a number of welfare schemes, these have failed to yield the desired results and benefit the people in the remote pockets of the district, who are deprived of basic amenities. The tribal-dominated village Jharjhari of Bhaliadal gram panchayat under Thakurmunda block of Karanjia subdivision, Mayurbhanj, Odisha is an example of under-development. The village lacks access to essential amenities like electricity, potable water, road connectivity and healthcare facilities. The tribal village Jharjhari has a population of over 400. It’s located about 10 km from the Panchayat main road and there’s no way for any vehicle to cover this distance. There are no roads. The villagers walk to the main road every day. There’s no clean water, no electricity, no toilet. All these basic amenities are dream for them. There is only one anganwadi and that too is closed from last one year due to death of a teacher. No official has ever visited the village and asked us about our condition,” the villagers alleged. In absence of roads in the village, locals have constructed kuccha roads on their own. Locals said even ambulances fail to reach the village during emergency due to lack of roads. Patients are often carried to Karanjia hospital on cots during the monsoon as ambulances cannot reach the village interiors. The village has no access to electricity, school or anganwadi centre. People are not receiving the benefits of old-age pension, widow pension and other schemes. The villagers had apparently brought the matter to the notice of the Block Development Officer (BDO) on several occasions. However, it didn’t yield the desired result. There is no school in the village. Children trek one-and-half km every day through the narrow roads to reach an anganwadi centre. A government tubewell in the village had been lying defunct for the past years. Thus, the villagers are forced to bring unsafe water from other sources. They cover a few kilometres every day to fetch water from pits and streams. The villagers have not watched television so far as there is no electricity in the village.
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