With the Assembly polls round the corner, various Adivasi organisations in the predominantly tribal populated district have joined hands to voice the issues confronting the aboriginal tribes, draw the attention of all political parties to the miserable condition of impoverished Adivasis and the imperative need to safeguard the interests of the aboriginal people.
A host of Adivasi organisations including Adivasi Sankshema Parishad (ASP), Tudum Debba, Nayakpodu Sangham, Gondwana Sankshema Parishad and Adivasi Sena have formed a joint action committee to espouse the cause of aboriginal people. The ASP and a few other Adivasi organisations had recently conducted a vigorous campaign in Bhadrachalam Agency, the tribal heartland of the State, to press for declaration of a national holiday on International Day of the World's Indigenous People on August 9.
Some of these organisations had actively participated in a pan-India campaign organised by a national-level coordination forum of various Adivasi organisations demanding introduction of a special column in the census questionnaire to establish the exact count of Adivasis across the country for effectively planning the welfare schemes for aboriginal people in proportionate to their population.
The JAC of Adivasi organisations has drawn up an action plan to conduct a slew of mass contact programmes including a yatra titled “Adivasi Jana Chaitanya Yatra” in tribal areas of the district.
Adivasi Jana Chaitanya Yatra will be launched at Edira Guttalu, the venue of an annual tribal fair, in Charla mandal on September 26, said Adivasi Sankshema Parishad district unit president N. Chandraiah. The yatra will traverse through the Agency areas spanning Charla, Dummugudem, Manuguru, Aswapuram, Yellandu and various other mandals of the district in the next fortnight. It is aimed at highlighting the severe injustices being meted out to Adivasis in education, employment and other vital spheres, he told The Hindu .
Effective implementation of the laws governing the Fifth Schedule Areas such as the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act and the Recognition of Forest Rights (RoFR) Act is imperative to empower the Adivasis in the true spirit of the constitutional provisions, he emphasised, demanding that all political parties include the issues concerning Adivasis in their respective election manifestos and sincerely strive to address them.
