Unfulfilled promises cuts off Kalahandi village from farmlands

BHAWANIPATNA: At a time when government strives hard to make India digital, people in this village, less than an hour’s drive from the district headquarters, let alone knowing about the new technology struggle daily to go to their farmlands and cremate the dead. A nullah, about 50 metres wide, which separates the village, Masigaon, from the agricultural lands and cremation ground is yet to have a bridge since independence.
Masigaon, about 34 km from the district headquarters town of Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district, comes under Talmala panchayat in Junagarh block. The village is home to nearly 300 families with a population of over 2,000. Their sole source of income is from the nearly 150 acres of agriculture land located on the other side of Bagdisar nullah.
Come rainy season, the problems of the villagers multiply when the overflowing Hati river fills the nullah to its brink, forcing people to remain cut off sometimes for weeks.
“To construct a concrete bridge is beyond our means. We recently collected money and built two wooden boats for crossing the nullah. The boats are tied to ropes touching both sides of the banks and pulled from one side to reach the other. Inflated truck tubes fitted with logs are the other ways some of us use to cross the nullah,” said village ward member Abhiram Bag. Those who know swimming risk their lives to reach the other side of the nullah by clinging to the tails of buffaloes, he added.
Since our lives oscillate between two ends of the rope, accidents are common. Many times we lose ripe paddy bags when boats for some reason tilt midway, said Krutibash Naik, a villager.
“When someone dies in the village, we land in bigger trouble. As the boats are not used for ferrying the dead, we carry the bodies on our shoulders and walk through the nullah to the other side for cremation, delicately negotiating the water,” said Ramakrushna Naik.
In 1980 a makeshift bridge was constructed, which did not last for a long before being washed away. In 2014-15, the present government announced construction of a concrete bridge with much fan fare at an estimated cost of Rs 25 lakh. “Every time we approach netas, assurances are not wanting. But the bridge is nowhere to be seen,” the villagers said.
Block development officer (Junagarh) Parambrahma Joshi when told about the plight of Masigaon villagers came up with a near similar reply. “The bridge work will begin after March once the water level in the nullah recedes,” he said.