This nondescript coastal village is totally different from others, as the villagers in every weekend congregate at the village to undertake various programmes like proper sanitation, road cleaning and plantation on their own without waiting for the aid of Government.
Inspired by the Swachh Bharat Mission, they have taken steps to see their village environment clean and mosquito free. The idea is to ensure that not a single fellow villager falls sick due to vector born diseases. The locals of all age groups cleaned the water hyacinth and road on Sunday.
About 114 families with a population of nearly 600 live in the Madhyapada village under Bandhapada Panchayat under Rajnagar block. Most of the villagers are farmers and collect their bread from working in their agriculture fields, informed Barsharani Rout, a villager. But the interesting fact is most villagers, including children, have taken a vow to see their village pollution -free. Every weekend, they voluntarily clean the village road, drains and garbage in the village. They also plant trees to see their village is surrounded by a green cover, informed village head Budhadeb Rout.
People believe that mosquito population increases in the village due to water hyacinth in pond. Though the villagers earlier brought the matter before the notice of the local Sarpanch and also before the local administration umpteen times, but nothing was done in this regard.
As a result, the fellow villagers in a meeting recently decided to clean the water hyacinth. In last two years, the villagers have planted more than 300 fruit bearing and also wild trees near the village end to convert the area to green and also are taking care of the planted trees, stated villager Brahmananda Barik.
At a time when lawlessness has become the order of the day and people run to police station and court for registering case even in silly matters, Madhyapada village is an exception as the villagers neither knock the door of the police station nor file petition in the court. If any dispute arises in the village, it is settled amicably by the village head and elderly persons in a meeting, informed the village head.