The Hindu Business Line : Orissa factor

This refers to the article “Coverage of Orissa, Karnataka trouble: Balanced approach wanted” (Business Line, October 3). As a person who worked in Orissa for 11 years, I would like to share my impressions of the picture as I observed therein.

Barring the coastal belt and possible exceptions of the Sambalpur and Rourkela belts in Western Orissa and Berhampore (Ganjam) region of Southern Orissa, tribal populations are more or less equal to the population of others. These tribal sects lack access to vocational, commercial transport, communication facilities because of their inaccessible settlements, situated in either hilly tracts or separated from nearby towns by water bodies.

Some places in Koraput and Kalahandi areas are inaccessible to outsiders for three months from June to September every year, due to the monsoon. These areas are devastated by either droughts or floods with literally nobody to help them in times of need.

The officialdom at local levels are either on long leave trying to get their ‘punishment postings’ cancelled with the help from their links with the powers at Bhubaneswar or are the first one to flee at the slightest problem of floods or other problems as their interests and near and dears are in the nearby towns or in the coastal Orissa. Even the mainstream journalists are also from the towns and very rarely cover news from first person perspective,

The relief announced much later often does not reach in full as the middlemen ensure that timely help does not reach the needy population. The situation is ripe for social service-oriented people to help them and oftentimes meet their own religious agendas, if any.

The present problems have come to light because of the murder of an influential person and the arson that took place. The solution is, therefore, streamlining the administration to meet the basic genuine aspirations of the people, especially tribals, through increased vocational avenues and access to the outside world.

P. E. Muthu Mumbai

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