Alipurduar, Nov. 4: The backward classes welfare department in Jalpaiguri district has taken the initiative to try and eradicate witch hunting from the tribal community.

The department will soon start several anti-witch-hunting programmes throughout the tribal areas in the district.

Backward classes welfare officer P.N. Bhutia, who is also the project officer of Jalpaiguri district, said: “The main problem is that the tribal people in the tea gardens are usually illiterate and the estates are rife with incidents of witch-hunting. We are going to take two kinds of measures. Creation of awareness, which includes educating the tribal population, is the first step. We will then focus on development of health awareness, medical facilities and formation of self-help groups.”

Bhutia also said the department would soon start cultural programmes by different tribal cultural groups, with one-act plays on witch-hunting and dance dramas, through which the tribals could be made to understand that witch-hunting was based on superstition.

The programme is scheduled to start from Kilkot tea garden in Meteli block of the district.

Bhutia said: “We have already identified the witch-hunting prone areas in the district. These are Meteli, Malbazar, Nagrakata, Madarihat, Kalchini and Kumargram. Health services in these areas are very poor and people tend to visit jangurus (witch doctors) when they fall ill.”

Bhutia added that the department would arrange a number of health camps where the tribal people would be told to visit health centres instead of jangurus and ojhas when they fall ill.

Bhutia said a few months ago, the district magistrate had called a meeting of department officials and police to solve this problem. At the meeting, the district magistrate instructed police officials to identify the jangurus active in tribal areas and punish them.