Thampu launches Ooru Kappu yatra to bridge gap between tribespeople and govt. schemes
Thampu, an organisation that focusses on tribal education, development and research, has launched an awareness initiative called Ooru Kappu in Attappady to educate tribal communities about government schemes and laws that benefit them.
An Ooru Kappu yatra began from the Kurukkathikallu tribal hamlet on Tuesday. The services made available through government arms such as the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Public Distribution System (PDS), Primacy Health Centre (PHC), Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), three-tier panchayats, and departments such as Forest, Police and Excise were explained to the tribespeople in detail.
The Ooru Kappu yatra also aims at creating awareness among the tribal youths of the ill effects of liquor and drugs. Exclusive projects such as Janani Janma Raksha safe motherhood programme and the ambits of Forest Rights Act are also being explained.
'We are conducting the entire awareness drive in the tribal language,' said Thampu president Rajendra Prasad, who inaugurated the programme. He said that Ooru Kappu was a traditional practice among the tribespeople aimed at preserving their unique way of life and cultural heritage.
Tribal activist K.A. Ramu presided over the function. Forest Rights Committee president Ayyappan and secretary Sreeja spoke.
Tribal leaders Sudheesh and Revathy Udayakumar led classes in different tribal languages. Attappady has three key tribal groups called Irula, Muduga and Kurumba with distinct languages and cultures.
A song composed by tribal singer K. Panali about the Forest Rights Act was adopted as the theme song of the Ooru Kappu yatra. The awareness drive will cover 20 hamlets before concluding on April 24.
The Ooru Kappu yatra led by K.A. Ramu and Binil Kumar has 10 members from different hamlets. Suja Gonjiyur, Majju Pattimalam, Kavya Ramu, Revathy Udayakumar, Sudheesh Panali, Selvaraj, Varathan, Ayyappan and Rajendra Prasad are part of the group.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Kindergarten classes to begin at 250 anganwadi centres in Mysuru
Mysuru: The department of women and child development has decided to start lower kindergarten (LKG) and upper kindergarten (UKG) classes at 250 anganwadi centres in Mysuru district from this year. A decision in this regard was taken by the department to strengthen these centres and increase enrolment, as most of the anganwadi centres are facing closure threats. Many parents prefer to enrol their children in private kindergartens that offer education in English medium. Even poor farmers and others from rural areas have started to enrol their children in private schools in nearby towns, spending significant amounts of money to educate their kids. The department has also initiated measures to provide training to anganwadi activists to equip them to conduct LKG and UKG classes in English medium. Mysuru district has 2,913 anganwadi centres. The department plans to start the LKG and UKG in 250 centres across various taluks of the district from Oct this year. As the Union govt also started anganwadis 50 years ago in 1975 under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) for the overall growth of children below six years, providing them with nutritious food, the department has introduced kindergarten classes from Oct this year, marking 50 years since the launch of this scheme. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Urologists: Men With ED - Try This Tonight Health Paradise Learn More Undo The state govt, which started Montessori kindergarten schools in anganwadi centres in Bengaluru on a pilot basis last year, has now initiated measures to introduce kindergarten in selected centres across the state from Oct. Among the 250 selected in Mysuru district to start kindergarten, the department of women and child development has selected 25 such centres in Mysuru city, Mysuru taluk (29), HD Kote (20), KR Nagar (25), Biligere (35), Narasipura (40), Periyapatna (16), Nanjangud (30), and Hunsur (30). The department has planned to expand the remaining anganwadi centres in a phased manner after assessing the response from both parents and children. The department has printed three sets of 50,000 books to teach anganwadi children in English medium by starting kindergarten classes. It also conducted the first round of training for anganwadi activists at the district level about teaching children enrolled for LKG and UKG in English medium in their centres. The second round of training for anganwadi activists for the centres selected for English medium will be held at the taluk level next month. Guidance books were also distributed to anganwadi activists. Before starting the classes, anganwadi activists were also asked to visit door-to-door in their villages and areas to convince parents to enrol their children in kindergarten schools. Speaking to TOI, deputy director of women and child development B Basavaraju said the department has made all preparations to start the kindergarten classes in 250 anganwadi centres from Oct and trained the anganwadi activists. "The opening of kindergarten classes will help the poor, farmers, and other residents in rural and urban areas by avoiding the need to spend large sums of money to enrol their children in private schools for pre-school education," he said. "As the department now introduced the kindergarten classes and permitted anganwadi activists to teach in English by starting LKG and UKG classes, it helped me enrol my child to kindergarten in my village," said Mahadevamma, a resident of Vyasarajapura in T Narasipura taluk.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Forest officials raze ‘illegal' sheds of tribals in Nagarahole wildlife range
The forest personnel on Wednesday dismantled six alleged unauthorised sheds erected inside the Attur-Kolli forest area of the Nagarahole Wildlife Range. This was in response to repeated resistance by tribal families who had occupied the land in early May and were reportedly obstructing forest department officials from accessing the site. According to Nagarahole assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Ananya Kumar, members of the tribal community entered the forest on May 5 and felled nearly 42 saplings to clear space for new shelters. 'Despite being served a notice on June 17 and given another chance on June 18 to voluntarily dismantle the new sheds, the encroachers blocked entry routes of officials,' Kumar said. 'Forest staff, under heavy police cover, accessed the area through an alternative path and proceeded with the demolition.' He said that claims by the tribal families that asserted ancestral links to the land could not be substantiated. 'The tribals claimed that they were the original inhabitants of the forest and staying since decades. But the documents available with department and surveys conducted by NGOs and even Google Maps found no human inhabitant in the area earlier. According to the Forest Rights Act, the inhabitants should have constructed their huts and cultivated the land in the forest before December 13, 2005. But there were no signs of human living, and the tribals failed to provide any proof of it,' he said, adding that the sub-division level committee (SDLC) had already rejected their land rights petition. He further said that while six new structures were demolished, six earlier sheds built in May were left untouched. Officials clarified that while the SDLC had turned down the land claims on May 22 this year, the applicants still have the right to appeal before the district level committee (DLC) within 60 days. The eviction has sparked a backlash from tribal rights activists. JA Shivu, president of the Nagarhole Adivasi Jammapale Hakku Sthapana Samithi, said the affected families had long-standing ties to the forest and had only temporarily migrated for work. 'We are not demanding any new rights from government, it is our right which is given by the Act under the Constitution but forest officials are suppressing our rights. We will take up agitation till our right is given,' he said. In a statement issued by the Karadikallu Atturu Kolli Haadi Forest Rights Committee, residents claimed they had returned to their ancestral land on May 5. 'On 17-06-2025, we, the people of Karadikallu Atturu Kolli village, been served a we should immediately destroy the they threatened that they will bring down the huts and file criminal charges against our people. This is a serious and absolute travesty of justice,' the statement read.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Aralam named butterfly sanctuary, rat snake proposal put on hold
Kochi: The state wildlife board, chaired by the chief minister, has on Wednesday approved the renaming of Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary as Aralam Butterfly Sanctuary, recognizing it as Kerala's first butterfly sanctuary. The board, However, deferred a decision on declaring the Indian rat snake (Ptyas mucosa), locally known as Chera, as the official state reptile. Some members opined that more detailed research is necessary before making such a designation. The renaming of Aralam Sanctuary honours its role as a major destination during the annual mass migration of butterflies, particularly the Albatross species, which arrive in large numbers. Experts attribute this phenomenon to the sanctuary's unique climate and the presence of host plants. Situated in the valley of the Brahmagiri mountain ranges, Aralam benefits from mineral-rich water flowing from the hills, which collects along the riverbanks. These minerals are vital for butterflies before breeding. "We have recorded 5,000 to 12,000 butterflies passing a single point in just five minutes," said a forest department official. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like One of the Most Successful Investors of All Time, Warren Buffett, Recommends: 5 Books for Turning... Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Click Here Undo "More studies are needed on their migration routes and whether they return." Several other proposals were also discussed at the meeting. The board agreed to approach the Union govt to provide legal heirs an additional opportunity to declare wildlife trophies that remained undisclosed following the death of certified owners. A proposal will be submitted for the construction of a ropeway to transport goods from Pamba to the Sabarimala shrine. Approval was also granted for 21 quarries and several integrated production units located outside but within 10km of various wildlife sanctuaries and eco-sensitive zones across Kerala. As part of ongoing tribal development efforts, the board decided to recommend five community centres and five roads within the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary under the Forest Rights Act.
