Year 2019 remained painful for the people of Sundargarh district. Haphazard and unsystematic construction work of sewerage system, human trafficking, torture on migrant labourers, unemployment and worst roads took away smiles from the faces of public.
Construction work of sewerage system had been going on at different places of Rourkela, but the unprofessional way contractor L & T had been doing it had put the residents and common people in utter difficulties. The officials of the L&T and Sewerage Board at Rourkela hardly bothered to address the woes.
There was very slow progress in work for Rourkela Smart City project during the year 2019. Out of Rs 376 crore sanctioned for the work for the Smart City, only Rs 22.23 crore was reportedly spent by the RSCL for the work.
Human trafficking had been a cause of concern for the tribals- dominated Sundargarh district. Many innocent girls, women and men were lured and trafficked to outside the State where they were engaged as domestic helps or as daily wagers. They were tortured at workplaces and were also not paid for work. Even a poor orphan youth of Balishankara block, who had gone to work as a bonded labour at Mangalore in Karnataka, died during November 2019, after drowning in sea there. The body of the poor youth could not be brought to his native place in Sundargarh and was cremated there.
Unemployment remained a major issue for people of the district. The industrial scenario went through the worst phase. A number of industries were closed and employees of the sick industries were running from pillar to post to get their dues. Employees of Adhunik Metaliks Ltd, a closed unit, staged protest a number of times to get justice but their plight had not been addressed and similarly employees of RIT, Kalunga had also staged protest for getting their salary. Employees of other sick industries went through similar fate. These employees and their family members were struggling for their survival.
Similarly, human-elephant conflict continued during the year 2019 in the district. The cultivated paddy fields and vegetables were destroyed by jumbos.
The much-awaited air connection through Rourkela city under the Udan scheme although was expected to start during the year 2019 but is yet to see the light of day.
In Bonei sub division, road conditions of different places were still very bad and people had to suffer a lot due to this worst road condition. The road condition of Rajamunda to Koira Rengalbeda, Rourkela Jorbandh to Bhimgarh ghati (Bonei end) and Tensa to Koira were absolutely horrible and the condition of these roads did not improve during 2019.
The construction work of the much-awaited second bridge over the Brahmani river at Rourkela commenced and the authorities were hopeful that the six-lane bridge and the four-lane road would be completed by March 2021.