The Hindu : New Delhi News : They see light at the end of the tunnel

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Friday, Jul 03, 2009
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They see light at the end of the tunnel

Ch. Santakar

KORAPUT: Life for the people around the upper Kolab reservoir is now different, says Balaram Muduli, a boatman in the water reservoir near Koraput.

Villages like Kechla and Semla which are among the major resources for vegetables for Koraput town have to struggle for their daily needs due to inaccessibility caused by the reservoir.

Several villages have been submerged forcing a greater part of the population to migrate. But for those who stayed back in their villages surrounded by the reservoir water, the challenges are many to face.

However, out of all the cut-off villages, Kechla could receive better attention of the district administration for its Jain monuments and scenic beauty of the adjacent mountains.

It also attracts Auro Mira Society of New Delhi, which came forward to begin their activities by opening a learning centre there.

Apart from offering education to the children in its centre, the society also started to train the people of the island on preparing bricks so as to generate some kind of self- employment.

Support

Moreover, while the district administration has offered its support by supplying a motor boat for the villagers, the training facilitated by the society to maintain them has given an added advantage, says Balaram. The motor boats have lessened the difficulties of communication for the villagers.

The village was suffering from lack of electricity for a long time and there was no scope of getting a connection from the main land. But the first experiment of using solar energy in the learning centre of the society gave a new hope to see light for each of the villagers. Now each of 100-odd families in the village has one solar lamp each in their house being supplied by the society.

Such unique combinations of creating opportunities for the simultaneous growth of the community and institution together would go a long way in establishing harmony in the challenging lives of people suffering from the miseries of detachment from the main land, Sujay Pradhan, says a leading coffee planter and social worker at Koraput.

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