The elected representatives of Chitrakonda block, PRI members of Andirapalli, Joda Amba, Panaspur panchayat in the cut off areas of Malkangiri district along with tribals of the district on Friday met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and requested him to help the tribal people of the cut-off areas by resuming launch services in the Balimela reservoir.
“The Chief Minister has given us assurance to look into the matter. Positively, the problems relating communication, education, electricity supply and other problems will be solved very soon,” said Malkangiri MlA Mukund Sodhi.
Meanwhile, tribal bodies of Chitrakonda and Malkangiri urged the Maoists to cooperate in resuming launch services to the cutoff areas in the Balimela reservoir.
The organisations requested the ultras by pasting handwritten posters on the walls of the houses near Chitrakonda ghat region. In the posters, the tribals said the people of the cut-off areas spend a miserable life without being able to avail basic necessities after the launch services were stopped suddenly.
The stoppage of ferrying services entered the tenth day on Friday. The villagers fail to get kerosene, salt and other daily rations in the area. Pregnant women are facing health complicacies due to the lack of medical facilities in their villages.
Notably, following a Maoist diktat to stop ferrying services in the Balimela reservoir, the lone communication link for people in the cutoff area to come to the mainland, an ambulance launch taking a 17-member Government medical team had reached the cutoff area to take stock of the health condition of the residents.