Jharasuguda district in the western part is home to mostly the marginalized sections as SCs and STs constitute almost half of the total population of the district. The people of the small district have been experiencing displacement due to dam, mining, industry and other projects and a sizable section of the marginalised poor continue to live in tiny slums even without basic minimum amenities for life. They lost their land based livelihood and took up odd jobs for survival in the absence of proper rehabilitation and resettlement.
A recent visit by this writer to the Rampaluga village in the district had brought a scope of interaction with the villagers on their issues of land and livelihood. Rampaluga village of Sunari Gram Panchayat in lakhanapur block is inhabited by about 72 families of the landless poor who are mostly engaged in fishing in the reservoir for livelihood over last 60 years after being displaced due to the Hirakud Dam over the Mahanadi in the early 60s.
Their village was submerged in the reservoir and they shifted to this new location since then. This multi-caste village in a distance of about 60 km from the district headquarters is not a revenue village in record and the inhabitants are without legal rights over the homestead land they are in possession of since generations. The people here are deprived of their basic human rights to live with dignity and to be part of a larger development process. Though the village is surrounded with water but water for household consumption for drinking, bathing and washing purpose has been a major problem of the people here as they mostly depend on the pond and tube well water to meet the household needs. The only small pond available near the village is not large enough to meet the growing need of the people and the tube well water quality is below the standard, but the people have no alternative for safe drinking water, said Sabita Rohidas, a fisher woman of the village.
The health and education service for the people has also not improved much in spite of the repeated request of the villagers to the district administration to take initiatives on this front. The mini Agwanwadi center functional here has not a full phase status of Agwanwadi center to meet the demand in providing service to the needy women and children. The children and women usually suffer with cold and water borne diseases every time and the primary healthcare center is at a distant place. The students of the village after 5th standard have to struggle a lot for higher education and they have to travel about 3km to attend the next higher class, told Sarapanch Akshya Kumar Sai.
This fishing community in spite of their dependency over the Mahanadi reservoir has not yet received any aid from the Government under the schemes targeted for the fisher folk development. Usually their fishing timing start early in the morning till 12 noon and after a small break it continues till 8pm at night. The average monthly income is not more than Rs 5,000 and sometimes there is absolutely no income as it depends on the fish production of the whole day. Their economic and social condition has not improved though both men and women are engaged in fishing. They mostly depend on private traders for sale of fish in the absence of cooperative of the fishermen and women for marketing. Rainy season is the most difficulty time as they do not want to go for fishing because of fish roe breeding but they can wait for about two months without alternative livelihood, said Hemsagar Godwal and Trilochan Godwal. They demanded that the Government should support them for two months for alternative livelihood and by that help in increasing the fish roe breeding in the reservoir which is very much required for sustainability and livelihood of the fishing communities.
It is unfortunate that many of the displaced families have no access to Government schemes such as homestead land, free housing and ration card. Though lakhanpur is a coal mines area and having a thermal power plant but the inhabitants of the block who are poor and marginalized have not benefited out of the mining and industry operation. Rather they have been evicted and have been bearing the brunt of the mining pollution. The Mahanadi Coalfields limited (MCl) is a public sector company having coal mining here in the block, but it has not given adequate attention to ensuring basic amenities such as drinking water, electricity, housing and other community infrastructural facilities for the villages of the poor and marginalized in the block out of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds or periphery development funds created under the provisions of law to address various local issues. The employment opportunities out of mining and industry have very minimal impact over local unemployed youths due to lack of education and required skill. There has been no growth of manufacturing sector in the areas and ancillary industrialization. The traditional family based occupations such as fishing, agriculture and forest based work are getting squeezed due to changing economic policies in support of corporates. There has been non availability of land, capital and marketing facilities for the agricultural workers, forest workers and sharecroppers who deserve the protection of the Government as small producers.
It is to be noted that the location of the village Rampaluga is a beautiful picnic spot and attracts many tourists and visitors to enjoy the nature’s beauty with boating but unfortunately this place has not drawn any attention of the Government to develop this place as a tourist spot of ecological and natural importance. Migratory birds from distant places used to visit the place seasonally. But this tourist potentiality of the place has not been explored by the district administration. People from distant places visiting this spot in different seasons for picnic are not getting basic conveniences. The villagers argued that for any development work and alternative livelihood they need land and connectivity.
Sumitra Pere, a local women leader who has been instrumental in motivating the local people for their rights and entitlements and has taken the matter with the local revenue authority, said that there are many hamlets such as Ubuda, Kudaloi, Kirma, Chingiriguda, Tingisimal, Darlipali, Khairikuni and Charla which are affected by coal mining.
The people have been staying for generations without a record of rights and they have been getting displaced for mining and industrial projects without proper rehabilitation. Though 60 years have passed, but the dam displaced families in Rampaluga village are yet to be rehabilitated with land and housing to live a dignified life. The district administration must take up these kinds of issues to ensure inclusive development and justice to the victims of State apathy, she asserted.
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