The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP), an apex body of tribals across Bengal, expressed disappointment over the performance of state tribal affairs minister Bulu Chik Baraik on Monday and said they would hold a protest march in Calcutta next week.
“We want Bulu Chik Baraik to meet some of our longstanding demands. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has formed a separate tribal affairs department, but we are not happy with the minister’s role. He has hardly taken any initiative for the tribal populace in Bengal,” Birsa Tirkey, the state president of ABAVP, said at a news conference here.
According to him, the tribal affairs department has not taken up pending issues, ranging from permanent jobs of tribal people working in different civic bodies across Bengal as casual workers for years to a college to encourage tribal girls for higher studies in the Dooars and training facilities for tribal youths for competitive exams.
“We also want the state tribal affairs minister to answer why the academic performance of students who study in Eklavya schools is poor. Also, he should speak on why tribals have been deprived of jobs in the Malbazar subdivision (in Jalpaiguri), which is a tribal-dominated belt, and in the super-specialty hospital there, even though recruitments were made,” Tirkey added.
The ABAVP state president, who admitted that the Trinamool government had earlier taken certain initiatives for them, said the performance of Baraik and his department left them disappointed.
“In protest of the abysmal performance of the minister and his department, we will organise a protest march to Adivasi Bhawan in Calcutta (from where the department runs). Our leaders and supporters from across the state will join the march,” he added.
The organisation, Tirkey said, is also concerned over the state’s decision to hand over a portion of the unused land in tea gardens for tourism and allied activities.
“We apprehend that tea workers and their families, including tribals, might get impacted due to such a decision. Most of them still do not have land rights,” he said.
Baraik, who was in Siliguri on Monday to attend an event, however, denied the charges levelled at him.
“The chief minister has taken up several welfare projects for the tribal population. The department is providing free coaching to 1,150 students of SC and ST communities for different competitive and entrance exams,” said Baraik.
On being told about ABAVP’s protest march in Calcutta, the minister said: “I cannot comment on it. It is their decision, but they have never approached me with their grievances.”