Pardhi community to take out march against government apathy

YAVATMAL: Around 2,000 members of Fase Pardhi samaj from across the state, under the banner of Adivasi Fase Pardhi Samaj Sanghatana, will take out a 40-km-long padyatra on Friday from Gondburanda village to the venue of the PM’s speech at Pandharkawda.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a women’s gathering at Pandharkawda on Saturday.

The representatives will also submit a memorandum of demands to the PM to show their anger towards non-implementation of the central government schemes due to apathetic attitude of bureaucrats in the state. Their demands include setting up of an independent financial development board for the welfare of the community and grant the status of ‘Adim Jati’ to Fase Pardhi community to bring them to the mainstream of society.

Members of Fase Pardhi community, which has a seizable population across the state are forced to spend their lives without any identification from the government and denied their constitutional privilege of ‘right to live a dignified life’ in the country. There are around 250 families of the community, residing in Arni tehsil itself, which is located over 40km from Yavatmal city, have no voter identity card and ration card, causing no benefits of the government schemes.

“We are born in India. But we cannot avail benefits of the government schemes. There is no road, drinking water, anganwadi or any facility for our children,” said Anithrao Bhosale, a resident of Karegaon Bandi of Arni.

The central government has launched the Mudra Yojana to ensure self employment for youths. “But when we submitted applications for the loan under the scheme, we were driven out by the branch managers of SBI and Maharashtra Bank,” Bondu Rathod, a resident of Ajanti Pardhi Beda, said.

Mangesh Chavan, a double Post Graduate belonging to

Chincholi

Pardhi Beda of Arni, has approached the SBI branch in Arni for a loan under Mudra Yojana. But he too was denied it by the branch manager as he has no identification certificate.

“We are Indians by birth and yet why this discrimination?,” asked a 29-year-old Matin Shankarrao Bhosale of Mangrul Chawala village, situated at the border of Yavatmal and

Amravati district

.

Matin, after quitting a teacher’s job, started a school, ‘Prasnachinna Adivasi Ashram Shala’, for the children of his community where 421 students of the community study under a thatched roof without any toilet and kitchen. Matin is the president of Adivasi Fase Pardhi Samaj Sanghatana.

“My school has 35 students from

Melghat

alone and most of them are orphans,” Matin said, adding that the government is reluctant to grant neither approval nor any government aids.