RAIPUR: Tired of waiting for a road that has remained incomplete for nearly a decade, residents of a remote tribal village in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district in Bastar have now made an unusual appeal to Union home minister Amit Shah, “Give us a helicopter if you cannot give us roads.”The bizarre yet deeply symbolic demand from Maruki village has gone viral on social media, spotlighting the harsh realities still faced by remote tribal settlements amid claims of improving conditions in former Maoist strongholds.In a letter addressed to the Union home minister, villagers said if authorities are unable to complete the long-pending road project connecting their village, they should at least provide a helicopter so people can be transported during medical emergencies.Behind the sarcasm lies years of frustration.Expressing both helplessness and anger, the village sarpanch said that residents have been demanding construction of the road for the past 10 years.“For 10 years, we have heard only assurances,” said the village sarpanch. “We approached everyone, local officials, district authorities and even the collector’s office. But nobody listens.”Residents alleged that road construction work in the area began nearly 10 years ago but was abandoned midway after contractors dug pits for culverts and bridges. What remains now, they say, is a dangerous stretch littered with gravel, potholes and unfinished patches that become nearly unusable during monsoon.Maruki lies in the interior belt of Sukma where hilly terrain and poor connectivity continue to isolate villages from basic services. Villagers said the absence of proper roads turns every medical emergency into a nightmare.Pregnant women, elderly patients and critically ill residents are often carried for kilometres on cots to reach the nearest motorable road. From there, they somehow manage transport to Gadiras hospital.A villager identified as Suka said even collecting free ration comes at a price.“We have to walk nearly 11km for ration. If someone gets a tractor ride, they charge Rs 100. The govt gives us free ration, but we still have to spend money just to collect it,” he said.Till now, Maoist violence was to be blamed for stalled development works in the region. But now, with repeated official claims that Bastar and Sukma are steadily moving towards becoming free of Left-Wing Extremism, villagers are questioning why even basic infrastructure remains missing.
What should be the top priority for remote villages like Maruki?
The letter’s helicopter demand may sound absurd, but for many in Maruki, it is the only way left to make the system listen.The unusual protest has now triggered discussions in administrative circles and online, with many users calling it a stark reminder of the gap between official development narratives and ground realities in remote tribal regions.
