Ranchi: A government official who ventured up a hill to visit a remote village of tribals living cutoff from the mainstream in Jharkhand`s Latehar district has been requested for health and education facilities and a more accessible place to live in.
The request from the 35 tribal families living on the hill came when Latehar Deputy Commissioner Aradhana Patnaik became the first senior government official to climb it to visit them on June 8 this year.
The village, surrounded by forests, does not have a road and there is only one teacher in the lone school.
The tribals engaged in agriculture are willing to vacate the reserve forest area and settle downhill in Jagir village, provided they are given agriculture land and basic facilities.
"I have sent their request for a package to the forest secretary so that they can settle somewhere down in the village," Patnaik told PTI on Tuesday.
"They want health and education facilities. When I went there I saw the villagers carrying a person who was ill on a cot for treatment. It is very difficult for them to get treatment for pregnant women and ill people," she said.
With their request pending, Patnaik has sanctioned housing under the Birsa Awas Yozana to each family, linked the women with self-help groups and sanctioned wells and employment under MG-NREGA.
PTI
