Thousands pay homage to tribal legend Kumram Bheem
Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Adivasis observed the 81st martyrdom anniversary of tribal legend Kumram Bheem at historic Jodeghat village in Kerameri mandal on Wednesday. About 20,000 tribal people belonging to several parts of the erstwhile Adilabad district and neighboring Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand made a beeline to the tiny habitation and performed special rituals […]
Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Adivasis observed the 81st martyrdom anniversary of tribal legend Kumram Bheem at historic Jodeghat village in Kerameri mandal on Wednesday.
About 20,000 tribal people belonging to several parts of the erstwhile Adilabad district and neighboring Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand made a beeline to the tiny habitation and performed special rituals to mark the anniversary. They paid homage to their hero and recalled his fight against the then rulers of Nizam era. They then thronged the museum and learned important accounts of life of Bheem displayed through sculptures.
Meanwhile, descendants of the tribal here including his grandson Sone Rao and granddaughter Kumra Sombai performed traditional prayers at the altars of their deities abutting the Kumram Bheem memorial. They wanted the authorities of ITDA to take steps to construct double-bed room houses and to provide livelihood as assured by the Forest Minister Indrakaran Reddy two years back.
The tribals reached Jodeghat using different means of transit including auto-rickshaws, trolleys, jeeps and vans to reach the venue. Some of them travelled in motor-bikes and cars to attend the annual affair. A few others came by foot, trekking a distance over 15 kilometres from Hatti to Jodeghat villages.
The participants expressed displeasure over cancellation of the grievance redressal programme or Girijana Darbhar. They said that the event would help them to bring their problems to the notice of officials concerned and to get them addressed. They stated that they were disappointed following the suspension of the programme.
Elaborate arrangements were made by authorities of the ITDA-Utnoor. Grievance redressal programme Darbhar was not organised due to Covid-19 protocol this year. Security was stepped at Jodeghat and many other villages in Kerameri mandal. Large contingents of policemen and armed forces were deployed along the route and at the venue of the martyrdom anniversary for preventing untoward incidents.
‘Kumram Bheem a source of inspiration’
Forest Minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy asserted that the State government was striving hard for realising the ideals of tribal legend, a source of inspiration for self-rule for Adivasis.
He paid floral tributes to Kumram Bheem on the latter’s the 81st martyrdom anniversary observed at historic Jodeghat village in Kerameri mandal on Wednesday. He was accompanied by Zilla Parishad Chairperson Kova Laxmi. Addressing a gathering, Indrakaran stated that the government was taking special measures to enhance the image of Kumram Bheem who waged war against Nizam rulers seeking rights over forest, water and land for tribals and self-rule.
Indrakaran said that the Chief Minister would soon address the long pending issue of Podu or cultivation of forest lands by tribals. He informed that the government had released Rs 1 crore for celebrating the annual Dandari-Gussadi, a religious and cultural affair of Adivasis on a grand note. He stated that special provisions were provided to Adivasis allowing them to rule their habitations.
He added that financial assistance was being extended to tribals who till forest lands, under the Rythu Bandhu scheme.
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