Nabarangpur A mere 2-kilometer stretch of unpaved road has become a major barrier in connecting Nabarangpur and Kalahandi districts. The road from Mundaguda, a border village under Tentulikhunti block, to Sindhiguda remains a mud track. As a result, during the rainy season, local residents face severe difficulties. In cases of medical emergencies, ambulances cannot reach the area, and patients must be carried on cots to the nearest paved road before accessing ambulance services.
While Mundaguda falls under Nabarangpur district, over 14 villages in Kalahandi rely on Tentulikhunti Medical Centre for healthcare. This is because traveling to Jayapatna Medical Centre in Kalahandi involves traversing over 35 kilometers of hilly roads, whereas Tentulikhunti is only 20 kilometers away. Therefore, residents from these 14 villages have expressed their dependence on Tentulikhunti Medical Centre.
Additionally, the route through this stretch offers a shorter path to Tikiri and Kashipur in Rayagada district, making it a commonly used road for local travel. If the road were constructed before the rainy season, it would greatly benefit the residents.
Despite repeated appeals by villagers to the Tentulikhunti Block Development Officer (BDO), and even formal requests to the former BDO Duryodhan Bhoi from residents of three villages in Kalahandi district, the road remains unpaved. Though a walking path was later developed under the MGNREGA scheme, it serves only a limited purpose during the summer and winter. In the monsoon, however, it becomes unusable.
As such, locals have been demanding that the remaining two kilometers be converted into a proper blacktop road. Of the 13 kilometers from Tentulikhunti to Mundaguda, the road has already been paved up to Sindhiguda — leaving just this final stretch.
Residents question why this last 2-kilometer stretch has not yet been completed. The Jay Tentulikhunti Manav Sewa Group has raised this demand multiple times and has informed both the former BDO and former MLA Sadashiv Pradhani. MLA Pradhani had even visited the area to inspect the condition of the road. Former MP Ramesh Chandra Majhi had also been approached regarding the construction, yet the demand remains unaddressed, according to the group.
Villagers from Mangardora Sindhiguda, Khadiaguda, and others including Sona Jani, Sunduru Jani, Jagar Jani, Kantha Jani, Boli Harijan, Sadhu Gouda, Makar Gouda, Shyam Gouda, Raghu Gouda, Nab Harijan, Jaladhar Harijan, and Hridananda Pattnaik have all urgently appealed for immediate construction of the road.
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