The administration has felt the need to repair and develop all riverbank roads ahead of the forthcoming rainy season. In Bhadrak district, by the name of ‘Salandi-Nalia Sanskar Yojana’ it was aimed at controlling the flood and ensuring irrigation and drinking water. However, due to the lackadaisical attitude of the administration, the yojana has been facing a plethora of issues. In most of the cases, the riverbank roads are weak and not in a condition to protect the villagers from flood.Looking at the situation in Matagajpur-Guhalipala riverbank road and specifically the ‘Dhoba gorge’ area under Talagopa bindha gram panchayat in Bhadrak district, rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy submitted a memorandum to the district Collector for its repair and development.
It is pertinent to mention here that, in January 2020, the then Project Director of Bhadrak Madhusudan Dash had visited the area and assured the villagers of taking immediate steps in this regard.
After submission of the memorandum, the Collector through emergency operation centre directed to the Executive Engineer, Salandi division to take immediate action. Paramananda Panda was also present in submission of memorandum. ‘If the work will not be taken on a war footing basis, locals will hold a protes soon," said Tripathy and Panda.