My village my pride: Pitala village in Odisha’s Ganjam district, watch
Due to lack of drainage system at many places of the village, rainwater gets accumulated on the road leading to water-logging in the rainy season
The Sheragada block of Ganjam district in Odisha consists of 22 panchayats. Among them, the Pitala panchayat is the biggest. Again, Pitala panchayat consists of four villages namely Pitala, Santoshpur, Chasapitala and Pakidi.
Naming
It is said earlier that many families of this village were manufacturing household elements with brass and hence the village was named accordingly. Of course, some others deny this claim. According to them, there is no concrete evidence about how the village was named.
Location
Pitala village is about three km away from National Highway no 59. This village has produced many litterateurs, painters and music directors. Most of the people here are educated. Farming and weaving are the two main professions of many families in this village.
Occupation
There was a time when more than 300 families in the village were engaged in the Handloom works. However, these days many of them have adapted to other professions and only about 100 families are doing handloom work. SHG groups are active in this village. There are more than 10 religious institutions in the village. When it comes to education, connectivity, business and politics, this village has some speciality.
Demography
Pitala panchayat is constituted of 18 wards spread over four villages. While there are about 1000 houses in the panchayat the population is more than 10,000. Male voters in the village are 3888 while the female voters are 3344. Besides, there are 2800 children and teens. The condition of the road and education facility has developed in the village over the years. However, when it comes to health services, in the absence of a permanent doctor, proper health service is lacking. Besides, many portions of the road that leads to the village from the State Highway are yet to be illuminated. And hence, the students are facing problems.
Issues
While the drinking water facility in the village is manageable, it is not sufficient for the summer season. Also, the villagers face problems due to the lack of a proper burial ground.
Again, in the absence of drainage system at many places in the village, rainwater accumulates on the road, leading to waterlogging in the rainy season. And it affects the lives of the commuters.
Even in some places, the drains have been clogged. Since there is no Bank in the village, people are facing problems with financial transactions.
Handloom
The people of the Dera and Ranguni castes in the village work in the handloom industry. However, assistance has been provided by the State and Central govt. The handloom workers have been provided with solar panels, inverters (along with battery and machine) and other materials. However, some families have complained that due to stepmotherly attitude, many families are yet to be included in this list of beneficiaries.
Kalinga AI