Following the growing Covid cases in neighbouring State of Chhattisgarh, as a precautionary measure, the district administration has decided not to allow the movement of people and vehicles from the other State except the transportation of necessary goods.
The administration blocked all routes from Nabarangpur district to Chhattisgarh and set up seven border check-points in Kosagumuda, Chandahandi, Raighar and Umarkote blocks to monitor flow of people and vehicles from Chhattisgarh to Odisha. But the administration seems to have lost sight of the real threat - the porous borders in rural areas of the district.
As the virus make a comeback in the district, residents of villages sharing borders with Chhattisgarh are living in fear due to free inter-State movement of people through the rural routes which have been completely overlooked by the administration.
The authorities have sealed all the highways and main roads connecting Chhattisgarh which has emerged as a Covid hotspot. However, rural roads in Kosagumuda, Raighar, Umerkote and Chandahandi blocks are still being used by Chhattisgarh people to enter Odisha without any restriction.
Hundreds of workers from Chhattisgarh are regularly visiting Turudi, Porchipara, Kachrapara, Jodinga, Jalangpara and Hatvarandi villages in Raigarh block to work in clearing the felled Nilgiri trees.
The workers are reportedly brought and sent back in special vehicles arranged by timber traders. There are 18 undetected village roads in Kosagumuda which connect to Chhattisgarh. Similarly, six such undetected roads exist in UmArkote, 16 in Raighar and 12 in Chandahandi.
A villager of Chandahandi said businessmen, daily wagers and other people from Covid prone areas of Chhattisgarh are entering Odisha through the secret routes. “While the mains roads have been sealed, the undetected village routes may lead to a spike in Covid cases in the border areas,” he said.