Bharampur, a role model for TS villages

Adilabad: Rural people will give priority to gram panchayat (GP) elections than Assembly, parliament, ZPTC and MPTC elections, which reflects in poll percentage of local bodies elections, which will be more than the percentage of other elections.

Candidate’s caste and money plays a big role in the elections. But the villagers of Bharampur panchayat, Talamadugu mandal, Adilabad district are impossible to be lured. It is the only village, where there are no elections since 1964 till date. For the past 55 years, villagers have been electing sarpanch and 10 ward members unanimously. 

Bharampur gram panchayat consists of Madnapur, Narsapur and Kolamguda villages and a population of around 4,000. From 1964 to 1998, for a period of 34 years, the gram panchayat was ruled by people of various communities, after unanimous elections. After 1998, tribals have been ruling GP as it was reserved for STs.

Anugu Kishtanna was the sarpanch from 1964 to 1968; Mudupu Bhuma Reddy from 1968 to 1987; Nutipalli Ashanna from 1987 to 1998; Atram Prabhakar from 1998 to 2001; Mesram Somanna from 2001 to 2006; Mesram Ramu from 2006 to 2010; and Seedam Lasmanna was the sarpanch from 20013 to 2018.

Before elections, the villagers will meet and discuss thoroughly to select whom and finally unanimously decide their governing body. It is quite natural for the people to divide into several groups during elections, but the people of this village strongly believe ‘in unity’, which can solve any problem. Bharampur gram panchayat had received cash award twice from the government for unanimous elections – Rs 5 lakh 10 years ago and Rs 7 lakh two years ago.

The result of their unity and unanimous elections reflects in black top roads, drainages, internal cement roads and street lights. A villager, Ramanna said that all the villagers will unitedly decide the sarpanch candidate and people of local wards will decide their ward members. “We have been following this system since several years and solve our problems and take the gram panchayat towards development,” he added.