Indus Valley Times

By Arendra Kumar Giri

Keonjhar, Nov. 5: Residents of Solguda village under Jhumpura block in Odisha’s Keonjhar district have appealed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to intervene and resolve several persistent local problems, including poor road connectivity and soil erosion caused by an artificial canal.

Home to over 100 families and more than 2,000 voters—mostly from tribal, Harijan, and other backward communities—Solguda faces severe infrastructural neglect. The village roads and ghats are in disrepair, forcing schoolchildren to walk through muddy stretches, particularly during the monsoon season.

Villagers said that an artificial water channel, created on the southern bank of the Aradei River near Dudkundi under the Bhakta Artificial Land and Afforestation Scheme, has worsened the situation. The canal—approximately 400 meters long, 15 meters wide, and 4 meters deep—was intended to support afforestation efforts, but years of unchecked erosion have caused significant damage to adjoining farmlands and destroyed many of the trees planted under the scheme.

Despite repeated written and verbal complaints to the local sarpanch, block officials, and district administration, no remedial action has been taken so far.

Frustrated by official inaction, the villagers have now made a collective appeal to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi to order the construction of a protective dam or embankment at the affected site to prevent further damage and restore their agricultural land.