Khalipathar village is in the west of Orissa
It is in Balangir district and 59km from Balangir town.
The journey from Balangir town to Khalipathar takes two hours by jeep. It takes one hour to travel 45km along a road, and another hour to travel 14km along a track.
There are village councils called Panchayats all over Orissa. Each Panchayat is made up of a few villages. Khalipathar village is part of Juba Panchayat. Juba is a village 4km away.
People from each Panchayat get together every few weeks to discuss their news and make decisions about the future of the area. Then they tell the local government what they would like to happen.
It is mostly the richer people in the villages who take part in the Panchayats. However, since ActionAid has been working in Khalipathar the poorest people have started to get involved. They are having a say in the future of their village.
Visit Khalipathar:
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