Appu 💫

Odisha should not decide its progress by sitting in AC rooms in Bhubaneswar. These little Adivasi innocent children’s climb red, dusty mines slopes all day under the open sun some part of mining belt of Odisha. Their feet burn on hot soil, their clothes carry mining dust, and their small bodies go without proper food or a single day of school. This is not a rare picture. This is daily life for many of them. Odisha has an adivasi chief minister. The President of India herself belongs to the Santhal community. Yet the ground has not changed for these children since many years. For centuries these families have carried the weight of displacement, pollution and neglect while others measure progress from air conditioned offices. Every child in Odisha deserves clean air, enough food, basic dignity, and the chance to study. My family and I have tried, generation after generation, to give whatever little we can from our own hands as ordinary citizens of Odisha But individual help can never replace what the government must do. These innocent children cannot wait any longer. They are not statistics. They are futures still sitting in the dust. Let Odisha’s progress finally reach them. Sorry, my dear little ones. I wish I could do something to make all of your lives better. It hurts to see you facing such struggles at such a young age. I may not be able to change your world today, but I sincerely pray that Lord Jagannath blesses you all with happiness, good health, education and a brighter future. I hope no child should left behind and our administrations should at least take much needed important steps to fix these ground realities.