Telangana Girijana Vidyarthi Sangam calls Pragathi Bhavan siege tomorrow

Mahabubnagar: Telangana State Girijana Vidyarthi Sangam leaders gave a call to lay siege Pragathi Bhavan on September 25, demanding the State government to meet the long pending demands of Schedule Tribe communities across the State.

Elaborating their preparations for the agitation at an event in Jadcherla on Wednesday, Girijana Vidhyarthi Sangam State chief secretary Vadithya Ramesh said that more than six years were over, but the TRS government has not fulfilled any of its promises made to the STs during elections. Though the government had made some Thandas into gram panchayats but didn't gave proper funds to the GPs for taking up development activities. He alleged that the State government is deliberately passing time by fooling the tribal people.

'During the elections, the TRS promised to increase reservations of STs from 6 to 12 per cent if they vote for the party to come back to power. But till date nothing was done on this issue,' he criticized. Ramesh demanded that the government should make all thanda gram panchayats as revenue gram panchayats and allocate Rs 10,000 crore for their development. He said they were forced to take up agitation as the government had fooled them with its false promises.

Girijana Vidyarthi Sangam members alleged that the State government in the guise of Haritha Haram is taking back Podu lands given to STs and forest officials have been harassing poor tribals.

The ST student leaders demanded the government to issue land pattas and pass books to all the tribals tilling Podu land. In order to press their demands, the ST students' leaders called upon all the tribal leaders, associations and parties to participate in 'Pragathi Bhavan Muttadi' programme on Friday, irrespective of their political alliance.