When A Young Woman IAS Officer Trekked Hostile Terrain For Hours To Hear Grievances Of Tribals

The people of Samatapadar village in the forest area of Nuapada district in Odisha have to walk on a hostile terrain at least for four kilometers just to reach an area where they can at least ride a bicycle. The 73 families from different tribes living here have to travel over 90kms to reach their district headquarters to avail government services. But, this Sunday, their village had a special guest- district collector Dr Poma Tudu, who travelled all the way to hear their grievances.

The 2012 Odisha-cadre IAS officer trekked the hilly terrain in two-and-a-half hours after leaving her vehicle at the foothill. The area comes under Naxal-infested area, though this particular village doesn’t report any violent incidents. The area is also infamous for man-animal conflict, though no such report has been reported from Samatapadar village.

“Some people from the village came and met me at the district headquarters during my weekly grievance hearing session. So, I decided to visit their village and listen to their grievances there,” the collector told Outlook.

The villagers did not expect the young woman officer there on Sunday. But, they welcomed her with lunch. She was accompanied by District Project Director Brushabh Chandra Nayak and they trekked the hilly terrain with the aid of a laathi.

“Connectivity is the main issue for this village,” said the Collector. “There is no electricity. At least seven families do not have ration cards. There are people eligible for social service schemes such as pension for the disabled, widow and the old age people.”

The Collector said that she has given directions to fast-track services to this village. Her priority is to construct a road to the village so that connectivity is no longer an issue for the families here. She expects to begin the work by January under the NREGA scheme.

She is also planning to set up a community hall in the village so that they can have medical camps there and can also watch television. Since electrification may take time, the Collector is planning to provide solar system soon. “We are planning to provide at least one solar bulb to one family,” she said.