Adivasis up the ante for new district

​Warangal/Khammam/Adilabad: It appears that demand for the creation of Adivasi districts is snowballing into a major issue for the government, especially after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao yielded to the demand of Jangaon, Gadwal, Sircilla and others.

Sensing that there is an opportunity, several Adivasi groups in Mulugu, Bhadrachalam and Utnoor have upped their ante against the government by intensifying their agitation.

While the Sarpanches, ZPTCs, MPTCs and other people’s representatives of Mulugu constituency are threatening to quit their posts, CPI (M) MLA Sunnam Rajaiah has fired a salvo at government, saying he will sit on a fast-unto-death from Thursday till a new district is created with Bhadrachalam as its
headquarters.

In Mulugu constituency, the Mulugu Zilla Sadhana Joint Action Committee (JAC), including all Opposition parties and Adivasi groups which successfully enforced a total bandh on Tuesday intensified their stir on Wednesday laying a siege to the Hyderabad-Bhopalapatna (Chhattisgarh) national highway-163 bringing vehicular traffic to a grinding halt for about three hours.

The leaders who took out a bike rally to Medaram invoked Sammakka Saralamma deities to change the mind of KCR.

While Telugu Desam former MLA Sitakka led the protest in Mulugu, the Adivasi leaders supported by the local media organised a road blockade at Govindraopet, demanding creation of Adivasi district with Mulugu as its headquarters.

“Besides its historical importance, Bhadrachalam is also the hub for aboriginal tribes,” local MLA Sunnam Rajaiah, questioning the rationale behind government’s decision to ignore their demand while yielding to the plea of less known areas.

With the government proposing to merge Wajedu and Venkatapuram mandals with Bhupalpally district, Bhadrachalam Agency which is already bereft of seven mandals that went to Andhra Pradesh will lose its sheen further, he said.

Meanwhile, government’s proposal for making Asifabad the fourth district in Adilabad has not gone down well with the Adivasi leaders who are demanding Kumram Bheem district with Utnoor as its headquarters with Indravelli and Jodeghat which represent Adivasi culture as its integral part.

Speaking to The Hans India, Adivasi Sanghala JAC chairman and Adivasi Sankshema Parishad State general secretary Kanaka Yadava Rao said: “Utnoor is known as the capital of Adivasis and it has all the administrative facilities besides its proximity to tribal pockets.” Asifabad is not an answer to the demand of exclusive Adivasi district, he said.

Meanwhile, several Adivasi leaders met the secretary-general of TRS K Keshava Rao, who was told to submit a report on the new districts’ issues by KCR, in Hyderabad on Wednesday and advocated the need for carving out Adivasi districts to safeguard the constitutional rights of aboriginal tribes.

CPI-ML New Democracy State Secretariat Members Venulapally Venkatramaiah, former five-time MLA Gummadi Narsaiah, senior leaders K Rama, G Jhansi and SL Padma were among others who met Rao.