Bideshini has been working ever since she graduated from school. Currently, she is enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Work programme at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). She recalls one of her fondest childhood memories-- when my picture was published in a magazine called Anteswara. She didn't know anything about what a camera was or what publishing was…

Bideshini Patel

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Despite being a revenue village, Tashada in Odisha has failed to receive basic government schemes even after multiple appeals.

Development in any form is still a far cry for people in Tashada village, Sundargarh district, Odisha. This revenue village lacks basic necessities required for survival. None of the government’s schemes have managed to penetrate this area, which is inhabited by tribals.

One of the residents of this village, Bodhu, said that there are no houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, formerly Indira Awas Yojana, and that the roads there are wretched. There is also no supply of safe drinking water. Besides this, the village lacks basic health facilities like hospitals, schools, and Anganwadi centres.

“Anganwadi worker does not come. The teacher comes once in a week or two”, adds Bodhu.

Bodhu’s plight is not exceptional in the state. Odisha has the largest number of Adivasi or tribal communities in India, including 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs). Poor infrastructure, poor food quality, and a lack of healthcare are some of the issues which have been lingering here for over a decade now. The government’s flagship social programmes seek to provide every family with a home, clean drinking water, toilets, and cooking fuel, but these programmes have yet to realize their goals in the state. Even the government’s rural housing scheme, which started in the 1980s, has failed to reach many tribal pockets in Odisha’s remote districts. Apart from housing problems, Odisha lags behind India’s more developed states in terms of access to other basic amenities, including electricity, drinking water, sanitation, and communication.

The people from Tashada village brought their issues to both panchayat and block level authorities several times. However, officials have paid little heed to their concerns.

Community Correspondent Bideshini spoke to the village Sarpanch during her visit to Tashada. While there, she raised the issue of the Indira Awas scheme’s lack of implementation in the village. “The village has no connectivity. We have given work orders for the road. Road connection is essential for the Indira Awas scheme”, said Golap Nayak, Sarpanch of Mahulpada gram panchayat.

People of Tashada village now demand that concerned officials inspect the lack of government schemes in the village.

Video by Community Correspondent, Bideshini

Article by Grace Jolliffe, a Member of VV Editorial Team.