'Tribals in Purulia reap benefits of state schemes'

KOLKATA: Owing to the various measures and sensitization programmes undertaken by the district administration in collaboration with a voluntary organisation, hundreds of people belonging to Sabar and other SC and ST communities—living in the remotest parts of Purulia—are reaping the benefits of various state-run welfare schemes.

The Public Health Engineering department is providing drinking water to the people living in Mrigichami village. An overhead tank has been installed, where the pump to lift water from the tank, is run by solar power.

Another project to provide drinking water to the people of five villages, namely, Burijhor,Lukapani, Kochgora and Banubera under Bandwan block and Sirgi village under Baharampur block, has been taken up and the work will begin soon.

A 30 kilometre-long road connecting Sidho Kanho More in Kunchia to Burijhor via Mrigichami has been constructed by the state Public Works department.

Toilets for the households have been built under the Nirmal Bangla project and houses under Bangla Abas Yojona.

The district administration is working together with an NGO to provide the benefits to the tribal people. Senior officials of the district administration said as majority of the Sabars are unaware of various schemes of the state government, the NGO is making them aware of the projects and filling up the forms.

As a result, they are getting various benefits like the old age pension and Samasthi Unnayan Prakalpa of the state Labour department.

It may be mentioned that under The Criminal Tribes Act in 1871, Sabars were declared as a criminal tribe.

In 1911, 198 tribes were declared as prone to criminal activities.