Ranchi, Nov. 2: The Ranchi district committee of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has demanded that Khelari be accorded the block status.

RJD members alleged that residents of Khelari were inaccessible to basic facilities and government schemes, as the nearest facilities were situated in Burmu, 40 km away. Khelari falls under Burmu block.

To press their demands, party members today staged a dharna near the commissioner?s office and submitted a memorandum to Governor Ved Prakash Marwah through the commissioner.

Party?s Ranchi district president Abhay Kumar Singh said despite former chief minister Babulal Marandi?s assurance to make Khelari a block, nothing has been done, leaving residents to bear the brunt due to the lack of facilities.

With bad roads and no government hospitals nearby, people have to travel 40 km to avail of any facility.

?The Arjun Munda government is not at all interested in the problems of people who have to travel so far to avail of any facility. If the government does not give a Khelari block status, then we will intensify our agitation,? Singh said.

Party spokesperson Khuda Ram said, during undivided Bihar, Laloo Prasad Yadav, too, had visited Khelari and announced that it will be given block status but the process got delayed since the new state was created.

?The people of Khelari can neither avail of the Indira Awas Yojna nor can they avail of other schemes. They have to travel to Burmu to avail of these facilities,? said Ram.

?Khelari pays the highest royalty to the government in terms of coal production. Ram Vhandra Nayak is the MLA of Khelari, which falls under the Kanke Vidhan Sabha seat. Nayak has not taken up any development work in this area. The roads are in a bad condition, other basic facilities are absent,? said Ram.

Sabila Khatun, a resident of Khelari who took part in the dharna, was also resentful of the neglect of the area.

?It is up to the government to grant Khelari block status. We want facilities to be provided to us at our place. We have to travel 40 km for any facility. Khelari is a hilly region and travelling is tough in these conditions, especially during an emergency. Recently, one of our relatives had to be hospitalised and we had to travel to Burmu to get him admitted to the government hospital there,? Khatun said.