Kolam Adivasis from Jivti raise issues of School and Anganwadi
Shramik Elgar Demands the Shifting of TDPO office from Chandrapur to Jivti for better service to the Adivasis
A delegation of Kolam Adivasis from Jivti block of Chandrapur district met the CEO of Zilla Parishad, Chandrapur Mr. Vivek Johnson along with activists of Shramik Elgar to raise various issues around school and anganwadi. The CEO discussed with the villagers and assured that he would take cognizance of the matters.
Jivti block is home to the Kolam community which is categorised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group. The block is distant from the district headquarters and in hilly areas making many villages and hamlets difficult to access. The delegation raised the issues of three villages with 100% Kolam households before the CEO and later addressed a press conference.
In the press conference, Shramik Elgar asserted that the issues of the Adivasis is being neglected in Jivti block and demanded that the office of the Tribal Development Project Office should be shifted to Jivti in order to better serve the Adivasi communities during ‘Amrit Kaal’.
- Village Singarpathar – This is a village with around 22 households of which 17 are of Kolam community and the rest are of Gond Adivasis. This 100% Adivasi village does not have an Anganwadi of its own and is attached to Bhuri Yesapur which is 15 kms away. Because of the hilly terrain and broken roads, lack of buses and the sheer distance, the children do not attend the Anganwadi and the anganwadi teacher too has never visited this village. The helper comes once of twice in a year but otherwise the children have no association with the Anganwadi. The delegation demanded a new Anganwadi for the village or alternatively to attach the village to Borgaon which is the closest village in Korpana block.
2. Village Bhuri Yesapur – This village is 100% Kolam village. It has a Z. P primary school whose building is literally falling apart. The village has passed Gram Sabha resolutions to ask for a new school building but in vain. The children are forced to sit outside in the open and the meals are also served in the open. The present school building is too risky for the children to sit in.
3. Village Dhanakdevi – This village also is 100% Kolam village. The Headmaster of this school was suspended last year in July 2023 and a new teacher was appointed. However, the financial and administrative charge was not handed over to the new teacher even after correspondence with the Panchayat Samity officials at Jivti. Because of this the children did not get the benefit of government schemes such as scholarships, uniforms, boots and socks, nutrition etc for the whole of last academic year. Now the villagers met the CEO with the demand that their children should get the benefits of schemes.
