Odisha man invests 30 yrs to build road through forest after MLA ignores villagers' plight

A self-sufficient man is being hailed for his motivation after he constructed a road through the forest land to enhance connectivity between his village Tulubi and the main road. The man named Harihar Behera from Odisha’s Nayagarh district had requested the local MLA to construct a path for the ease of commute for the villagers through the forest. He had asked the MLA to construct a road that connects with the main road outside to make life easy for the villagers, who otherwise have to toil through the dangerous jungles to get to the main route. 

Approximately 30 years had passed, and there was no action taken on his plea. And hence, Behera decided to build a road himself. According to news agency ANI, the MLA had turned down Behera’s request, saying that it was not possible to build a road in the forest due to the rugged terrain. But the man was inclined on accessibility to his village via the main road. So he took the matters into his own hands and started the construction, regardless. What stunned the villagers was his commitment and that he had single-handedly developed the road, a task being sidelined as “difficult and unachievable” by the local MLA, as per the news agency. 

“There was no road here. When we demanded a road, the local MLA told us that it can never be built here. Since that day, Behera took it upon himself to build a road,” a local resident told ANI.

Behera and his brother started the work by first cutting through the forest and clearing the land, then later constructing a three-kilometer stretch for the vehicles. “Our relatives would find it difficult to travel here due to the muddy path. They would forget the route. It was becoming difficult to do without a road, which is when my brother & I began road construction on our own. The road has become a reality now,” Behera told ANI. 

Invested 30 years in construction for villagers' ease

Just to construct the three-kilometer road, the man hailed as a hero by the villagers sacrificed approximately 30 years of his life. But what he achieved, fetch glory among his people. Recently, the Odisha government also agreed to upgrade the stretch into an all-weather road for ease of commute during the harsh weather, according to reports. ADM BC Ray hailed Behera for his determination, calling him an exemplar of good work. “About 30 years ago, Behera & his brother began building a road through forest land to their inaccessible village. It's an inspiring piece of work. Subsequently, after due permission from forest officials, a road has been constructed, the village is now fully accessible,” he told ANI.