Residents of a remote tribal village in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, tired of waiting for a road that has remained incomplete for nearly a decade, have made an unusual appeal to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In a letter, they said, 'Give us a helicopter if you cannot give us roads.'
Viral demand highlights neglect
The bizarre yet deeply symbolic demand from Maruki village has gone viral on social media, spotlighting the harsh realities faced by remote tribal settlements amid claims of improving conditions in former Maoist strongholds. Villagers said that if authorities are unable to complete the long-pending road project, they should at least provide a helicopter for medical emergencies.
Years of frustration
Behind the sarcasm lies years of frustration. The village sarpanch said that residents have been demanding the road for the past 10 years. 'For 10 years, we have heard only assurances. We approached everyone, local officials, district authorities and even the collector's office. But nobody listens,' he said.
Residents alleged that road construction began nearly 10 years ago but was abandoned midway after contractors dug pits for culverts and bridges. What remains is a dangerous stretch littered with gravel, potholes and unfinished patches that become nearly unusable during monsoon.
Isolation and emergencies
Maruki lies in the interior belt of Sukma, where hilly terrain and poor connectivity isolate villages from basic services. 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 where they manage transport to Gadiras hospital.
A villager named Suka said even collecting free ration comes at a cost. 'We have to walk nearly 11 km for ration. If someone gets a tractor ride, they charge Rs 100. The government gives us free ration, but we still have to spend money just to collect it,' he said.
Questioning official claims
Previously, Maoist violence was blamed for stalled development. But with repeated official claims that Bastar and Sukma are steadily moving towards being free of Left-Wing Extremism, villagers question why basic infrastructure remains missing. The 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 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.
