Adivasis seek autonomous district councils

Several Adivasi student unions, Adivasi rights unions, former and present MLAs representing agency areas and civil rights organisations participated in the event. Manda Krishna Madiga, chief, Madiga Rashtra Porata Samithi (MRPS), who was the chief guest at the event, pledged his complete support for the movement for achieving Adivasi self-rule and declared that nobody should rest until the goal was achieved.

Strongly opposing Polavaram project, V Narayana, President, Polavaram Vyatireka Committee, said that according to constitutional framework and government policies, any irrigation project which would displace more than 50,000 people should not be undertaken. He questioned why the leaders of Telangana were quiet when the Polavaram project was proposed and why they were only concerned about the temple of Lord Rama at Bhadrachalam, when 400 Adivasi villages were facing the risk of submergence.

Arun Kumar, president, Adivasi Writers Association, said that the demand for self-rule was meant to protect the agency areas and Adivasis from being devoid of education and jobs and for protecting the areas from destruction in the name of development.

He said that initially Adivasis used to get 4 per cent reservation in jobs, but ever since Lambadas have been included in ST category, the reservation had increased to 6 per cent which was common to both the sections, yet, Adivasis were not getting jobs due to the heavy inflow of Lambada migrants. He said that if Telangana was formed, the reservation for Adivasi needs to be increased.