The ‘padayatra’ being organised by the activists of the Girijana Samkshema Parishad (GSP) demanding the resignation of tribal MLAs of the district in support of the demand for formation of Bhadrachalam district, entered Charla mandal on Friday. The GSP activists embarked on the five-day march on foot in Venkatapuram on Thursday to mount pressure on the State government to form an Adivasi district by retaining all the 24 tribal sub-plan (TSP) mandals as a single unit with Bhadrachalam as the headquarter. The activists, led by its convener Sonde Veeraiah, traversed through several roadside villages in both Venkatapuram and Charla mandals before reaching the mandal headquarters town of Charla in Bhadrachalam division on Friday afternoon. Girijana Vidyarthi Samkshema Parishad and Adivasi Teachers’ Federation activists accompanied the GSP leaders in the padyatra. Addressing a roadside meeting at Charla, Mr. Veeraiah alleged that the State government’s move to divide the Agency areas and merge them with the plain areas would jeopardise the interests of thousands of Adivasis, making them numerical minority in their traditional habitat. “The arbitrary move to split the Agency areas in contravention of the provisions enshrined in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution will further aggravate the plight of Adivasis,” he said.
The padayatra will culminate in a protest demonstration in Bhadrachalam on October 10.
