The promise of a bridge to development in Odisha’s Kalahandi

What does a idiosyncratic bash erstwhile idiosyncratic they emotion is warring for life? It goes down to instinct: telephone an ambulance, unreserved to a hospital, and entrust them to trained aesculapian professionals. In N. Podapadar gram panchayat successful Odisha’s Kalahandi district, that instinct collides with geography and despair.

Here, a aesculapian exigency begins not with a telephone telephone but with a trek. Someone indispensable trek up a elevation oregon 2 successful hunt of a flicker of mobile web to dial an ambulance. Then comes the scramble to necktie unneurotic a enactment cot into a makeshift stretcher. The sick idiosyncratic is lifted and carried for up to 8 kilometres to the borderline of a immense expanse of h2o – the Indravati reservoir.

A government-run vessel ambulance whitethorn beryllium waiting to ferry the diligent across. If not, they wait, praying for the lone vessel that serves 16 marooned villages. And if the situation strikes astatine night, anticipation thins further.

Raisingh Majhi, the sarpanch of N. Podapadar, speaks of this world astir matter-of-factly: “This is the cursed beingness we are condemned to, for sacrificing our onshore to the Indravati reservoir. This task turned the drought-prone Kalahandi into a greenish belt, present 1 of the country’s largest rice-producing regions.”

Majhi narrates however 16 villages tucked distant successful antithetic hills got surrounded by h2o successful the precocious 1990s aft the irrigation task began to instrumentality shape. These villages received energy lone astir a decennary agone and person small entree to ceremonial education. About 3,000 villagers belonging to N. Podapadar panchayat person been surrounded by the immense h2o of Indravati reservoir for the past 30-odd years.

Project and the islands

The Upper Indravati Hydroelectric Project (UIHEP) is simply a ample multi-purpose stream vale project. Its instauration was laid by past Prime Minister Morarji Desai successful 1978 astatine Mukhiguda of Kalahandi district. In the 1970s and 1980s, kid trafficking and recurring droughts had fixed Kalahandi the dubious individuality of being 1 of India’s poorest regions.

The project, approved by the erstwhile Planning Commission astatine an estimated concern of ₹208.15 crore, was planned implicit the Indravati stream that originates successful the hills of the Thuamul Rampur artifact of Kalahandi. The nonsubjective was to make 600 megawatts of hydroelectricity and supply irrigation to 1.28 lakh hectares of onshore successful Kalahandi. The Upper Indravati reservoir was dispersed implicit 12,885 hectares, created successful the vale areas of the Eastern Ghats. The foothills and valleys were wherever the villagers cultivated land.

The full expenditure went up to ₹1,427 crore erstwhile the task was completed. As galore arsenic 97 villages (44 from the undivided Koraput territory and 53 from Kalahandi) were affected by the task owed to the acquisition of 32,530.87 acres of land. Up to 17,000 radical were displaced successful 4 phases: 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. Those who opted not to determination from their ancestral villages remained successful the shadiness of development.

Umi Daniel, who participated successful a World Bank survey connected the rehabilitation and resettlement of onshore oustees, notes that compensation practices were markedly antithetic then. “Unlike present-day rehabilitation policies, which measure aggregate dimensions of nonaccomplishment earlier fixing compensation, the process successful those days was mostly cash-based,” helium says. “People were unaware of their entitlements. They were incapable adjacent to number the money. Villagers would prosecute others to number it for them and connection tiny tips successful return,” Daniel recalls.

Dillip Das, a Bhawanipatna-based societal activistic who moved the Odisha Human Rights Commission and the Orissa High Court arsenic a petitioner implicit the plight of families stranded connected the land wrong the Indravati reservoir, says that adjacent the humble compensation proved hard for galore to manage. “Villagers often exhausted what was fundamentally a lifetime’s currency reserve connected societal functions and section liquor. Middlemen besides exploited their deficiency of awareness, often cheating them,” helium says.

Life, chopped off

The reservoir began filling up astir 1996. “When radical realised that their villages, located connected higher crushed successful the mediate of the reservoir, would not beryllium submerged, they decided to enactment back. By then, astir had already spent their compensation money. They had nary means to rebuild their lives extracurricular the reservoir,” says 51-year-old Khagapati Nayak of Tentulipadar, 1 of the land villages. He claims his household owned 40 acres and received compensation ranging betwixt ₹1,800 and ₹2,000 per acre.

In neighbouring Bhitardunga village, 70-year-old Adhu Majhi recalls that his household received ₹60,000 arsenic compensation for cultivation land, though helium does not retrieve the nonstop acreage. The magnitude was divided arsenic among 12 brothers. Some invested successful bullocks and ploughs portion others spent the wealth connected marriages. “Within a fewer years, not adjacent ₹100 remained,” helium says. The Majhi household yet returned to shifting cultivation and regular wage labour.

Nearly each household crossed the 16 villages nether the lone N. Podapadar gram panchayat connected the land has a akin communicative to tell. The State authorities had offered them rehabilitation person to Junagarh, an municipality centre successful Kalahandi territory but villagers opted to enactment connected their ancestral land.

“For the adjacent 20 years, villagers managed without electricity. Life would usually travel to a halt earlier sunset. Only successful 2016 did the 16 land villages statesman to beryllium connected with electricity. It was an irony that the Indravati produced hydroelectricity that travelled thousands of kilometres to different States, but our villages, hardly 40 km distant from the hydropower station, remained untouched for 2 decades,” says Sankar Harijan, different nonmigratory of Tentulipadar village.

In the archetypal years, determination were nary roads. Villagers would carve retired serpentine paths crossed the hills to scope neighbouring settlements. Nearly 3 decades later, lone a 300-metre agelong has been concreted. While different roads are visible, their motorability mostly depends connected the driving skills of land residents, who person nary prime but to navigate half-laid metallic tracks.

In summer, a roadway opens, which tin beryllium accessed by four-wheel drives and tractors from Koraput and Rayagada portion Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) floating jetties and FRP boats are the lone mode to entree the 16 villages. “More than 250 radical person mislaid their lives by drowning successful the past 3 decades. Boat capsizes are common,” says Das, adding that the past incidental took spot connected February 28, erstwhile a antheral went missing and 2 managed to aquatics to safety.

Sani Majhi, who operates the FRP floating jetty astatine B. Cheptaghat, recollects however the jetty was swept distant successful 2024.

Pipe dream

The Odisha government, successful its effect to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India and the Orissa High Court, stated that bridges had agelong been projected to link the cut-off villages with the mainland and easiness question wrong N. Podapadar panchayat. A large high-level span betwixt Kenduguda and Sikakuji Ghat was planned astatine an estimated outgo of ₹54 crore 11 years ago. However, the task ne'er took off.

“Soil investigating and different ancillary enactment person been completed. The tender has been floated for survey and plan of the project,” Brundha D, past District Magistrate of Kalahandi, informed the NHRC, successful October 2025. There is inactive nary motion of the bridge.

Similarly, locals allege that enactment had begun connected a smaller span astatine B. Cheptaghat, which could person connected the 16 villages to Thuamul Rampur, the artifact headquarters. The project, however, was abandoned midway.

The Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) allotted ₹60 lakh successful 2014-15 for the operation of a Bailey span to link Ghutrukhal and Tentulipadar. A decennary later, the span is obscurity to beryllium seen.

Ask Damu Majhi, a resident, however the lack of roadworthy connectivity affects regular life, and helium recounts his ordeal. “I received ₹1.30 lakh for a dwelling portion nether the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin, but it proved grossly inadequate. I had to transport gathering materials by vessel and past transportation the cement and stones manually from the reservoir’s borderline to my home. The deficiency of connectivity forced maine to walk overmuch much to physique a tiny house,” helium says.

The gravest interaction of mediocre connectivity is connected healthcare. Phulamani Nayak, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) from Bhitardunga, says, “In my career, I person witnessed 2 women present babies connected a vessel and 1 connected the roadside. Many similar to springiness commencement astatine location owed to the trouble of reaching hospitals.”

Sarpanch Majhi says that conscionable a fortnight ago, a large pistillate from Kolatikudruput colony died due to the fact that she could not beryllium taken to a infirmary successful time. Subsidised atom of 10 kg per caput nether the Public Distribution System remains the lone lifeline for a bulk of villagers stranded successful this cut-off area.

However, carrying the escaped atom from the reservoir enactment to homes perched connected the precocious reaches of the hills proves taxing. At times, the authorities distributes quotas erstwhile each 3 months. This means families indispensable haul a threefold load connected their heads, trekking uphill crossed hard terrain to scope home.

Education missed

The sarpanch says that 3 government-run superior schools cater to the needs of 16 villages. “Children from Padipadar person to locomotion 10 km to scope schoolhouse portion those from Uppargunjmali screen 8 km. For children from 10 different villages, the region ranges betwixt 3 km and 10 km,” helium points out.

At the Government Primary School successful Podapadar, conscionable 15 students from Classes 1 to 5 are recovered sitting unneurotic connected benches successful a azygous room. The 2 teachers appointed to the schoolhouse are absent. Instead, Santosh Santa, a Class 12 pass-out and unemployed youth, had been engaged by headmaster Ghasiram Nayak to instrumentality classes and negociate the children.

Beyond Class 5, continuing acquisition mostly depends connected the parents’ mindset. Those determined to amended their children further question admittance successful government-run residential schools extracurricular the reservoir. However, their numbers are few.

Projects, fractional done

The N. Podapadar sarpanch says galore projects person begun but stay incomplete. The panchayat office, mini bank, a wellness sub-centre, atom godown, and imperishable schoolhouse gathering astatine the panchayat office were started years ago.

“I person been visiting the offices of the District Collector and Block Development Officers, but they person small clip to inquire astir the improvement of this forgotten panchayat,” Majhi rues.

Social activistic Das says his nationalist involvement litigation, seeking the operation of a large high-level span implicit the Indravati reservoir, was disposed of successful 2019 aft the Odisha authorities informed the tribunal that enactment connected the task had commenced.

Dhruba Charan Muduli, the Block Development Officer of Thuamul Rampur, admits that determination person been hurdles successful completing the operation of the bridges. “The projects volition beryllium re-tendered,” helium says.

For astir 3,000 residents, mostly tribals and Dalits, the anticipation of walking oregon driving crossed the reservoir, alternatively of navigating its waters, remains a distant dream.

Edited by Sunalini Mathew