ADILABAD: Hundreds of Adivasi women from across erstwhile Adilabad district gathered in Utnoor and staged a protest in front of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) office on Monday, demanding that the government remove the ‘migrated’ Lambada community from the ST category in addition to banning liquor sale in the agency areas.
Earlier that day, the women took out an Adivasi Mahila Chaitanya Yatra under the banner of Adivasi Hakulla Porata Samithi (Thuddum Debba) in Utnoor. They paid tributes the statue of tribal legend Kumrambheem before taking out the rally to the ITDA office.
They also staged a protest on the Adilabad-Mancherial road for nearly two hours, interrupting traffic in the area.
Thuddum Debba district general secretary P Bapu Rao said that the Lambadas had migrated from the neighbouring states and claimed the ST certificates in the district to enjoy the benefits offered by the government.
Adivasis have been staging agitations for the past three years against the issue of certificates. The protestors not only want the officials to stop issuing certificates to the Lambada community, but also repeal the certificates that have already been given to them. Apart from this, the women wanted a full liquor ban in the agency area owing to the issues of alcoholism.