'Deprived' Odisha tribes want to leave the state

Local people of Sunabeda forest sanctuary in Nuapada district in Western Odisha has taken the decision to leave Odisha and merge themselves with the neighbouring state of Chhatisgarh. Their allegation is that they have been deprived of many basic facilities like education, health care, communication, provision of pure drinking water and electricity by the Odisha government although several years had passed since independence.

Nuapada: The Sunabeda forest sanctuary in Nuapada district in Western Odisha which is located three thousand feet above sea level amidst inaccessible forest ranges, has become a disturbing place. The local people have taken the ultimate decision to leave Odisha and merge themselves with the neighbouring state of Chhatisgarh.

Their allegation is that they have been deprived of many basic facilities like education, health care, communication, provision of pure drinking water and electricity by the Odisha government although several years had passed since independence. As a result, people of the locality had started preparation to merge with the neighbouring state of Chhatisgarh.

Two Gram Panchayats --Sunabeda and Soseng, which comprise a total of 48 small and big villages mostly inhabited by tribal people, are located in the midst of forests and hilly terrains three thousand feet above sea level. Aboriginal tribal people belonging to Chakotia Bhunjia and Paharia Kamar communities live in these villages. The government officials are hardly seen in these villages as these outlying areas are also dominated by Maoist ultras.

As a result, the social uplift programmes undertaken by the government are never implemented here and the people have alleged that they are forced to pass their days in utter misery. The people of this inaccessible area surrounded by forests and hills sustain themselves by consuming sweet potatoes and drinking water from the streams.

The local people have alleged that the ministers and political leaders are all responsible for destruction of the area instead of working for its development. Because of this reason, it has been noticed that the people of these villages are now uniting and holding meetings with a view to merge with the bordering state of Chhatisgarh.

While the Government of Chhatisgarh has given the tribal status to the people belonging to the ‘Paharia Kamar’ community and included them in various social welfare programmes, the Odisha government had included this rare tribal community as OBC (Other Backward Class). As a result, these people are deprived of the services and facilities provided to the tribal people. The people here have demanded that those belonging to “Paharia Kamar” should be accorded recognition as tribal people.

They have also demanded that the road from Cherchua Ghat to Sunabeda and Soseng should be tarred and the passenger bus provided by the state government should be made operational by the CBDA (Chakotia Bhunjia Development Authority). Their other demands included the provision of irrigation facilities to their agricultural land by digging bore wells, giving them the Record of Rights (RoR) in respect of forest land occupied by them and provision of pure drinking water for them. Apart from fulfilment of these demands, the people of this forest sanctuary have also demanded immediate transfer of the Special Officer under the Chakotia Bhunjia Development Authority.

These innocent tribal people who had been subjected to injustice for several years have now lost their ability to tolerate further atrocities. They have given an ultimatum that they would leave Odisha and merge with Chhatisgarh if their demands are not met within a period of 12 days.

After coming to know about the development, the Block Development Officer of Komana under the direction of the District Collector of Nuapada had visited the Sunabeda forest sanctuary and held a detailed discussion with the local people about their demands. However, it is noticed that the people of the sanctuary had remained adamant about their demands.