A bridge to a better future

Orissa’s human rights panel, in a historic ruling, gives three river-locked villages a way out of their decades-old isolation, reports Dhrutikam Mohanty

Three river-locked villages in Kendrapara district of Orissa, deprived for decades of a road link with the outside world, are on the way out of their isolation.

In a historic ruling, the Orissa State Human Rights Commission (OSHRC) has construed the absence of proper communication facilities as a violation of human rights and directed the authorities to provide the villagers with better means of transport and a bridge across a river that runs through their area.

Says human rights lawyer Prabir Das: “This direction has added a new dimension to the definition of human rights. Human rights normally mean basic civil and political rights such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and economic, social and cultural rights such as the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education.”

The path-breaking OSHRC order has come in the wake of a petition filed by people of Kalamada Sasan, Padanipal and Daitaripur villages who have been living in a river-locked area with absolutely no road links since the pre-Independence period. The commission delivered its ruling after being apprised of the misery of 10,000 inhabitants of these villages.

Padanipal area under Aul block of Kendrapara district consists of the villages of Padanipal, Kalamada Sasan and Daitaripur. It forms an island with the Kharasrota river flowing to its north, east and west and its tributary, Kani, flowing in the South. Apart from this, a water channel connecting the two rivers flows through Kalamada Sasan cleaving the village into two. The villagers have to cross the rivers and the water channel to access basic facilities like health and education.

The Padanipal area is only 150 kilometers away from the state capital, Bhubaneswar. Just a short distance away from the district headquarters, Aul, the road hits a dead-end. This is where the Kharasrota river begins and villagers have to depend on country boats like the one owned by Japani Mallik.

“Everyday my 20-seater boat carries villagers to their offices, schools, colleges and even hospitals when necessary. The villages are stranded if my boat is out of order for even a day,” says Mallik.

In Kalamada Sasan, Prof. Rabindra Kumar Dash, retired principal of Aul College, tells us: “As we don’t have a college in this island area, our boys and girls have to cross the river everyday to reach nearby Aul College. Some school students also cross the river as there is only one high school here.”

Senior citizen Gangadhar Das avers: “The most unfortunate thing is that to reach the nearest hospital at Aul, the people of these villages have to cross five to six kilometers of river water on country boats. Even if a boat is available, the life of a patient is at risk because of the time it takes to traverse the distance.”

To make matters worse, due to their geographical location, these villages have to bear the brunt of nature’s fury. “This area is flood prone. Even a small flood washes away paddy crops every year. More than 60 per cent of the people living in this area are below the poverty line. Although a section of villagers is engaged in fishing, yields are limited because the river isn’t very deep,” says Parsuram Samantray, sarpanch of the area.




Life for the villagers is tough even without nature robbing them of their livelihood. Ashok Mallick, a daily labourer, says: “In the non-harvesting seasons, I don’t get work in the island area, so I have to move out to Aul and its adjacent places for work. I have to pay a minimum of Rs 20 a day as boat fare.”

The villagers have to cross the Kharasrota for every little requirement – collecting their rations in Bhuinpur, five km away, against their BPL cards. Says another villager, Suresh Mallick: “We have to pay for a boat ride even to cast our vote during election time.”

Land erosion is another major threat to this area. The Kani river originates from Kharasrota near Padanipal and rejoins it after passing Padanipal and Kalamada Shasana. The water current is, therefore, strong here. The river water has been steadily eroding its bank every year.

Prof Rabindra Dash decided to move the OSHRC after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government announced that every village with a population of 500 and above would be linked by roads. Armed with that directive, the villagers filed a formal plea to attract the attention of the administration to their plight.

Prof Dash reveals, “Before approaching OSHRC, we got in touch with the district administration, the local MLA and ministers. Everyone promised to solve the problem but nothing was done. The apathy of the administration made us determined to fight our own battle.”

The villagers approached OSHRC in 2006. Says Prof Dash: “Fortunately, the commission accepted our petition as a human rights violation and directed the District Collector to conduct an inquiry regarding the problems of the river-locked villages under Aul block. The commission also asked the collector to suggest a viable solution within four weeks. The collector suggested that a bridge be constructed on the river Kani.”

Subsequently, OSHRC summoned the chief secretary of the Orissa government and asked him to intervene. In compliance, the chief secretary accepted the proposals of the district collector. Orders were issued to the rural works department to take action. On August 12, 2009, OSHRC released the final order on the petition filed by villagers of Padanipal area that the state government will be constructing a bridge over the Kani.

The sarpanch, Parsuram Samantray, informs us that the preliminary work for the construction of the bridge has already begun, signifying a huge victory for the people of Padanipal. Will the inhabitants of other river-locked areas of Orissa take a cue from Padanipal’s success? They already are doing just that. People of Satabhaya area of Kendrapara district and of 151 villages of the Chitrakonda Reservoir cut-off area of Malkangiri district are now reportedly planning to approach OSHRC with their long-standing grievances.