At a time when the State and the Centre are boasting of taking a slew of developmental measures for the welfare of the indigenous communities, here in the Similipal Tiger Reserve, the inhabitants have to take up the job of repairing the road themselves as their repeated requests to the administration fell on deaf ears.
The low-pressure triggered incessant rain for the last three days has washed away around 75 km of road stretched between Jashipur and Astakuanr on the extreme end of the sanctuary, paralysing the lives of around 12,000 tribal community people. While some portions have been washed away, some others have become slippery.
According to the inhabitants, the condition of the roads has deteriorated to such a level that let alone ambulances, even it is impossible for a cycle rider to move. There is every possibility that light vehicles and even cycles may skid off the road. The villagers also suffer from irregularity in PDS distribution due to snapped communication.
According to Barehipani Sarpanch Jujher Bansingh, representatives from all the three gram panchayats had approached the district administration to take immediate measures to repair the roads, but their requests fell in deaf ears. Finding no other option to restore normalcy as it has been their only connecting route, members of all the 42 Gram Sabhas took a decision to take up the repairing of the road on their own.
Around 800 villagers assembled together and started their work on Sunday using gravels and other locally available materials. By the time the report was written, they had repaired around 20 km stretch of road and the work was on.
It may be mentioned here that Similipal is a unique landscape rich with plant and animal biodiversity that has been managed by Gram Sabhas. There are 43 villages under three gram panchayats which are connected by this single forest route. The road has been managed by the Forest Department since long and after recognition under FRA, five buses are plying through the sanctuary to provide road communication facility to the inhabitants under the Biju Gaon Gadi Yojana. According to Dr Hemant Kumar Sahoo, a researcher of tribal life, who works with the community inside the sanctuary, the unique endeavour taken by the villagers to take up the road repairing work is a mark of unity among the inhabitants who work in solidarity to conserve and maintain the biodiversity inside the sanctuary.
He said the unity among the villagers is reflected in several ways contributing to the development of the biosphere and their own lives and livelihood. Recently, villagers of all the 42 Gram Sabhas under the banner of Similipal Vikas Parishad (SVP) observed Similipal Samaroh and took an oath to work in unison for maintaining the biodiversity and forest cover of the pristinely sanctuary.
The SVP is a federation of 43 GSs to support forest conservation and management work. Its convenor Mohaty Birua said the initiative taken by the villagers to repair the road is a token of their unity. “We want to convey a message that if the Government does not come up with a permanent solution to ensure proper road communication facility with an immediate effect, it will be responsible for the consequences,” he said.