Rayagada, August 27 (Odisha.in) Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik Monday visited Kashipur in Orissa’s Rayagada district where waterborne cholera has killed at least 48 persons in past one and half months affecting thousands.
Patnaik reviewed the situation at Kasipur community health center. He also visited to Talajhari, one of the affected villages. He interacted with some ladies and asked them about the problems that they are facing.
In Talahari four persons had died few days ago and it is reported that a minor child Srikant Nayak aged about 5 years died on Sunday. Talking to medical persons Patnaik said that the health officials in the district have treated at least six thousand people so far.
Appreciating the steps taken by the administration Patnaik said that the district administration is taking timely steps to provide necessary assistance to the victims. Patnaik described the situation under control.
Since the chief minister spent only ten minutes it disappointed the villagers. “He did not give much time” villagers Rungta Majhi and Moni Nayak of Talajhari village told Odisha.in. We thought he will give time to listen to our plights but in vein, they said.
We are facing acute water problem and none is there to help us” he said. When some people die officials and ministers visit our areas and promises to do so many things.
But after few days they forget, he said.
It was not the first visit of Patnaik to the area. He had visited this tribal populated region in 2000 when there were reports of starvation deaths.
This region was also in news decades ago for a severe drought. Rajiv Gandhi had visited this region at that time when he was Prime Minister.
Kashipur has 17 village panchayats and 704 villages. It has near about one and half lakh population of them more than fifty per cent are tribal.
While 20 to 25 per cent people depend upon agriculture, 75 to 80 per cent earn their livelihood as day-labourers. The cultivable land is 37,124 hectares. But people do paddy cultivation in only 758 hectares.
Odisha.in