Villagers in Orissa demand basic facilities

Koraput (Orissa), Apr 15 (ANI): As a mark of protest against the absence of basic facilities, villagers in Koraput district of Orissa have threatened not to vote in the upcoming general elections.

Koraput district is one of the most backward, tribal dominated districts of Orissa. Many areas in the district are surrounded by hills and forests and are cut off from the rest of the places in the state.

People of Nandpur block in the district lament the absence of proper roads and transport facilities. Besides, they are deprived of electricity and irrigation facilities too.

"Our main demand is a bridge on the Machkund River which will connect Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Our second demand is electricity. We are also deprived of health and irrigation facilities. So, something needs to be done about all this," said Badela Khare, a villager.

As a result, the people of Nandpur block have threatened to boycott the polls to register their protest against the continued apathy of the government.

"We do not have proper facilities in this village. We don't even have clean drinking water facility. So, we have decided to boycott polls and not vote during the elections," said Narayan Nayak, Block Development Officer.

The people of Koraput hope that by boycotting the polls, they would be able to draw the attention of the government towards their plight. By Sharda Lahangir (ANI)