There is a large chunk of population in Adilabad which has not visited its district headquarter town. This surprising fact came to light when a group of over 70 Gond Adivasis belonging to the remote Gundala village in Tiryani mandal descended upon this town on Monday and had the time of their life walking on the main roads and taking in some of the unseen aspects of development.
The visit of the Gonds, of whom 26 were women and few elders, was part of the ‘Police Janamythri’ programme introduced by the district police to wean away innocent Adivasis from the influence of anti-social elements, especially the Maoists. Superintendent of Police Vikram Jeet Duggal welcomed the Gonds and organised lunch for them at his camp office. He assured the visitors of addressing their long-standing demand for laying a road between Gindala and Dandepalli mandal headquarter, a distance of 6 km. The SP appealed to them to shun the anti-social elements and become part of the development process.
The Gonds sang their traditional songs seeking good health and general wellbeing from their gods. Mr. Duggal joined them as they danced. Later, the Adivasis submitted a memorandum to Collector M. Jagan Mohan seeking a proper road for 6 km connecting their village to Dandepalli mandal headquarter. Bellampalli DSP A. Ramana Reddy, Tandur CI A. Karunaker and Tiryani SI Budde Swamy were also present.
