The road to Dandugoda in Koraput. Picture by Basant Kumar Mohanty

Koraput, April 30: Driving on the road from Laxmipur to Kashipur in the Naxal-affected Koraput and Rayagada districts of Odisha would be hard to forget more because of its precarious condition compared to the picturesque landscape it passes through.

The main road to Kashipur block headquarters speaks volumes about years of neglect. It would take a two hours’ back-breaking drive to cover the 50km pothole-filled stretch from Laxmipur.

The condition of village roads is worse. Visiting Dandugoda village under Pottangi block in Maoist-affected Koraput district is a challenge.

No vehicle can ply on the one-km stretch connecting the village to the National Highway-43 just after Pottangi. As most contractors are scared of the Maoists, they shy away from laying any road in this region. As a result, the roads in most villages are in bad shape, making it difficult for the district administration to reach the habitations.

“I have not seen a government official ever coming to our village. The anganwadi worker also does not come to our village,” said Tamal Endana of Dandugoda village.

In case of a person falling ill, the villagers carry him on a cot to the nearest primary health centre in Pottangi, he said. The villagers always walk to cover the stretch.

Another Dandugoda villager Gamel Kanaya said that they did not send their children to primary school at Podapadar village as they had to walk through the undulating terrain.

“Nobody in our village is literate. The nearest school is two km from here. We cannot allow our children to walk all the way to school,” he said.

Subash Chandra Pani, a contractor in the area, said that Maoists always targeted them for “protection money”. Failure to fulfil the demand might end in the death of contractors.

“The contractors are scared. They do not want to participate in the tender floated by the administration for road works,” Pani said.

He said the Naxals had sent threat letters to the contractors asking for ransom. In 2010, Maoists killed a contractor near Pottangi as he had failed pay “protection money”.

“Why should we put our life at risk? I have stopped taking any work since the past four years,” he said.

Manoj Kumar Agrawal, another contractor, said he had informed police on getting a threat letter from the Maoists. However, there was no action from the police.

“Police do not extend any security. The contractors are at the mercy of the Maoists,” Agrawal said.

He said the Koraput district administration had floated tenders for building 150 roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The last date for submitting applications was March 31, 2014. However, no one has shown interest in the job.

Koraput district collector Yamini Sarangi admitted that though tenders had been floated several times, the contractors did not evince interest to take up work in certain areas.

“In certain areas, we are facing this problem,” she said.

However, the problem is not confined to south Odisha. The rural roads in districts under Maoist-affected Bastar region in Chhattishgarh are equally hit.

Building these roads in the Red zone is critical to enhance government presence, implement project and maintain peace in these areas.

Sources in the Union rural development ministry in New Delhi said that similar problems are being faced in the 27 Naxal-affected districts in the country. These districts include Koraput, Malkangiri and Rayagada in Odisha, Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Sukma, and Kondagaon in Chhattishgarh and West Midnapore in Bengal.

The Centre has decided recently to give special relaxation to PMGSY norms to facilitate roadwork in these districts. If there is no response to tenders floated twice, the work can be given on nomination basis. Anybody can nominate an organisation or person for the job.

A committee headed by the district collector will examine the competency of the nominated person or organisation and decide if work can be awarded, sources said.