Tangi, Sept. 13: People of Pariorda, the model village adopted by Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patasani under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, are yet to seen the man supposed to be their patron.

Patasani, however, said: "I will soon visit the village. I am in touch with the officials and political representatives there."

The village, about 70km from Bhubaneswar, neither has drinking water facilities nor any other civic amenities worth the name. Calling it a model village can be a travesty of the truth.

Patitapaban Sahu, 54, an agriculturist, said: "We have not seen him even though he has been representing the area for the past 17 years. It's ironic that he has adopted our village and chosen to develop it as a model one. Of course, we have seen him on the TV with his famous danda (stick) which he uses as a magic wand to ameliorate poverty."

A young graduate, Biswajit Pradhan, 25, who aspires for a government job, said: "When Prime Minister Narendra Modi came up with the idea of MPs adopting model villages and our village was chosen as one, our hopes had soared. But nothing has changed, and we have been left disillusioned."

After Pariorda had been declared a model village in 2014, there was a rush of officials to the place with frequent meetings held with people for its development. But with no development taking place, the enthusiasm of the villagers slowly evaporated.

The village with a population of around 3,000 people has agriculture as its mainstay. Officials had assured us of setting up a veterinary centre, particularly to treat cows, goats and buffaloes. However, nothing has happened over the years," rued another villager.

Even the existing Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) centre to treat villagers is in bad shape and is overgrown with bushes. The ANM visits the village hardly once a month when a special programme such as polio drive is carried out. While the health centre's condition is bad, children don't have a playground.

"They could not even provide our children with a playground," said another villager.

Even the local club house, an area where the village youth used to gather and observe festivals such as Ram Navami, lies in a bad shape. While lack of funds has forced the villagers to stop organising such programmes and renovate the 100-year-old Ragunath temple, bushes and shrubs have grown around the club.

The village still struggles to get safe drinking water.

"Though the department has introduced pipe water scheme, the water supply is erratic. We have to wait in a queue for hours together to get a pitcher full of water," said Sabita Sahu, 39, a mother of three.

Bhimsen Pradhan, 34, a small-time businessman who keeps tabs on the projects undertaken by the government officials, said: "My elder brother was the sarpanch in 2002. He had quit his government job to work for the village and make it a model one. He died in 2012 because of brain malaria. However, his dream of a model village is slowly dying before our eyes. No projects have materialised at the village in the past three years."

Pradhan said that though he had heard about the Pradhan Mantri Dhana Yojana, the villagers have failed to open their bank accounts because of the lack of initiative from the bank officials.

Basic amenities are also missing from the village, just 4km from the national highway. Though electric poles have been installed in the area, there are no lights.

"In the evening the road visibility becomes poor," said another villager.

In the past four years, a bridge has come up over a river to facilitate people's movement. However, it had been sanctioned much before the village was adopted as a model one. Besides, questions have been raised over the quality of its work. The approach roads are in a poor shape.

Block development officer Bhaskar Raita said: "We have not received any special funds for the development of this village. However, we are taking steps to provide basic amenities, including a market complex and kalyan mandap, to the people.