They stay in the house of a tribal couple overnight at Nagarahole

Madikeri:

The president of the Virajpet Taluk Panchayat, Sarita Poonacha, stayed in Kolli hadi, a tribal settlement, in the Nagarahole National Park on Tuesday as part of the “Grama Vastavya” programme to listen to the grievances of the hapless tribal people, according to information reaching here on Thursday.

This was the first step being initiated by the panchayat to redress the problems being faced by the tribal people, Ms. Poonacha said. J.K. Muthamma, a tribal member in the panchayat, also stayed with Ms. Poonacha. They were offered tuberous roots and honey for supper.

The Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat, Mirza Akbarulla, who along with Ms. Poonacha, heard the grievances of the tribal people, said steps would be taken to redress them in a phased manner.

Replying to a man from the tribal community who alleged that officials only gave promises to them and nothing else, Mr. Akbarulla said his efforts were sincere and that he and other officials would not have visited them during the night if it were otherwise.

J.K. Thimma of the tribal community requested Ms. Poonacha to introduce regular buses to help tribal children reach schools in Kutta, Srimangala, Gonicoppa and other places.

Members of the tribal community also demanded more kerosene and ration under the public distribution system as the existing ration was not sufficient.

Tribal people sang revolutionary songs (Kranti Geete) and performed “Kolata” in the night to showcase their culture.

The deputy secretary of the zilla panchayat, Basavarajappa, executive officers of the Virajpet amd Madikeri taluk panchayats, Nagaraj and Motappa, respectively, and Assistant Director of Kannada and Culture Department K. Damodar were present.

The officials left while Ms. Poonacha and Ms. Muthama stayed in the house of J.K. Thimma and Bojamma.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / October 30th, 2009