Chief Minister (CM) K. Chandrasekhar Rao will tour districts in the State after the Assembly session which follows the Medaram jatara in Mulugu starting February 5, according to Endowment and Forest Minister A. Indrakaran Reddy. The CM will also visit Adilabad district to personally study the problem of tribals related with podu land and rights for cultivation on forest lands, the Minister revealed.
Addressing a gathering of Adivasis at the annual tribal darbar as part of the Keslapur Nagoba jatara celebrations, the Minister assured the tribals that Mr. Rao will ensure that no injustice will be done to them. “The CM will solve the problem once for all after going through it meticulously,” he said.
Harming tribals’ interests
Earlier, Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao (BJP) had appealed to Mr. Reddy to stop the Forest Department from harming the interests of the aboriginal people in the name of protecting forests. He accused the department of forcibly evicting tribals from their agriculture fields.
Talking about development of the famous Nagoba Temple, about which the MP had made a fervent plea for completion of work on the new structure, the Minister in turn appealed to identify a contractor who can take up developmental work for which ₹ 5 crore has been sanctioned.
“Tenders have been called twice but no contractor has come forward to take up the work,” Mr. Reddy pointed out. Further, he said Keslapur has already seen development worth ₹ 11.6 crore including a double lane road connecting Mutnur with the temple.
Mr. Bapu Rao urged the government to take up a study to find the causes for anaemia among Adivasi women which has drastically reduced their life span. “An NGO had taken up a study which revealed that most ethnic women died around the age of 40 years,” he pointed ut.
Earlier, the Minister and others worshipped the serpent deity at the temple. Chairman of Sports Authority of Telangana State A. Venkateshwar Reddy, Collector D. Divya, Superintendent of Police Vishnu S. Warrier, Project Officer of Utnoor Integrated Tribal Development Agency, S. Krishna Aditya and Mesram clan elders, and others also attended.
