Jharsuguda 19th July 2025,: Residents of Dhutara village under Orda Panchayat in Kirmira block, Jharsuguda district, staged a road blockade from the IOCL Chhak to the Orda bus stand, demanding immediate construction and repair of the main road.
The people of Dhutara, Orda, and nearby areas have repeatedly submitted petitions to public representatives—MLAs, ministers, political leaders—as well as the district and block administration and UltraTech Cement authorities, urging for the road’s construction. While some landowners have already submitted written consents for land acquisition, no road construction has taken place. In other cases, roads have already been built on private land, but the owners have yet to receive any compensation.
The road, originally built around 1996 during the construction of the L&T plant, has now completely deteriorated. Despite continuous demands, only false promises have been made by the administration, with no concrete action. Locals expressed strong dissatisfaction with the neglect and delaying tactics of the administration and representatives, calling it a clear example of how grassroots development is being ignored.
The situation has become especially dangerous near Dhutara School, where large potholes have turned the road into a death trap for children walking to school. On Wednesday, July 2, 2025, during heavy rainfall and movement of heavy factory vehicles, the road became virtually unusable. In protest, under the leadership of the local Sarpanch, villagers lay down in the mud and staged a road blockade from early morning.
After several hours, hundreds of factory vehicles were stranded far from the site, causing widespread disruption. Eventually, factory officials arrived at the protest site and promised, with the approval of district authorities, that repair work would begin soon. They also assured that at least temporary arrangements would be made to ensure safe passage for schoolchildren. Following this, the villagers ended their blockade.
However, the locals later accused the factory of doing little more than dumping a few truckloads of soil or gravel into the road’s potholes, rather than undertaking any meaningful repair. As a result, residents remain deeply dissatisfied.
On Monday, July 7, 2025, villagers also lodged a formal complaint with the District Grievance Cell, but the Jharsuguda district administration reportedly ignored their plea, leading to further disappointment.
After repeated appeals to the administration, elected representatives, and factory authorities went unanswered, the villagers held a mass meeting on Friday, July 11, 2025, in the Radhamadhav Temple premises in Dhutara. The meeting, attended by the local Sarpanch, Samiti Member, former Sarpanch, former Block Vice-Chairperson, and many local women, concluded with a firm decision to adopt a “Do or Die” stance for the sake of their land and basic infrastructure.
Accordingly, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, villagers including elders, children, women, and others dependent on the road for livelihood, gathered once again and launched a large-scale road blockade movement, demanding immediate construction of the Dhutara-Orda road, which they described as a “death road.”
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