Keonjhar: The members of the Juanga tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), said netas visited them only before the elections and did a disappearing act in the years in between. Despite various Centre and state government schemes for their well-being, development is still a mirage for them.“Some netas have started visiting our village now that the elections are here. They had come exactly five years ago, made promises and disappeared. Let’s see what they promise this time,” said Sudhira Juanga, a 55-year-old resident of Rimulighati village, 20 kilometres away from Keonjhar.The village has around 70 Juanga households and most of the residents are farmer-turned-daily-wage labourers, who have left farming due to lack of irrigation facilities. Apart from a road that passes through the village, no other facility — including clean drinking water, electricity or healthcare — has touched it. “We finish our work by evening and go to sleep as we don’t have an electricity connection. These days, kerosene is also not available. Snakes and poisonous insects often enter our houses in the dark,” said Phulamani Juanga, a 45-year-old woman.The villagers said Juanga Development Agency (JDA) — formed for the development of the PVTG — has done precious little for them. “The officers in JDA have asked me to sign some papers a couple of times in the last few years. They gave us mustard and maize seeds for cultivation but after the farming season was over. When there is no drinking water, how can we farm?” wondered Basudev Juanga, a member of Odisha PVTG Empowerment and Livelihood Improvement Programme, which works in the area for the Juanga people.The negligence and apathy of the government towards the Juanga people are evident from their dilapidated houses and unhygienic conditions. “Most of our children drop out of school after Class 5 as they don’t get admission in the ashram schools (run by the state government for tribal students) due to shortage of seats. They work as labourers. Other Juanga villages have better facilities than us, we don’t know why,” said Ramesh Juanga. “We want our children to study more and work in proper jobs,” he added.Though there is an anganwadi centre about three kilometres away, most of the children seemed to play in the village itself. “We (parents) go to the forest in the morning and the children stay at home and play. What is the point of their going to school? They will have to work after a few years anyway,” said Kuni Juanga, a mother of four. She could not specify the ages of any of her children.Special officer of JDA, Biswadarshi Sahu, however, denied any neglect of the PVTG. He said, “The JDA has been working in Banspal block since 1978. It has brought about tremendous change in the lives of the Juanga people. They have schools and anganwadis in all villages and boring water facility has also been made available.”

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