It may not have acquired popularity as a famous tourist destination in Telangana State yet, but recent months have seen a marked rise in the number of visitors to the Kumram Bheem memorial and the tribal museum at the remotely located, historic Jodeghat village in Kerameri mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.
The phenomenon is being attributed to the curiosity generated among people towards Adivasi ethos in erstwhile undivided Adilabad district following start of the dispute between aboriginal and Lambada tribes last October.
The memorial of the legendary Raj Gond martyr, who had waged a rebellion against the Nizam of Hyderabad in the 1930s, is a modern architectural structure inaugurated in October 2016.
The tribal museum, part of the ₹ 25 crore complex mainly has exhibits, photographs and paintings depicting the day-to-day life of the different ethnic denominations in old Adilabad district.
The number of visitors has climbed to 111 in May this year from the 45 in the same month last year which means that almost four persons visited these places every day during the month in the current year against 1.5 persons in May last year.
“The rise is significant given the degree of difficulty in accessing the place. Though the 23 km road connecting Jodeghat and the mandal headquarter village is good, there is no public transport worth the name,” explained Kumra Sungu, an Adivasi youth from Jainoor who could visit the memorial only after two years.
“There are curious visitors, officials and professionals, coming from places far removed from here as Hyderabad and even Bengaluru. People from Maharashtra of course, are regular,” revealed the museum curator Mangam Vishwam Rao.
The largest number of visitors is from mandals surrounding Kerameri and from some other places within old Adilabad district. “People from our district come here to spend almost an entire day of picnic,” pointed out Kumram Bande Rao, the attender cum watchman at the museum, as he pointed towards a family eating under a large tree some distance away from the museum.
Bande Rao, incidentally, is the great grandson of the martyr.
He was named Bande, which is Gondi for a gun, apparently after the exploits of his great grandfather.
For the Adivasis, the memorial with its large statue of Kumram Bheem, is a pilgrimage. For others, it is an ideal place for selfies.
The authorities have started charging a nominal entry fee for the museum since May 31.
It is ₹ 10 for adults and ₹ 5 for children.
