Tribal backlash over move to rename Bengali villages in Odisha

MALKANGIRI: The state government's poll promise of renaming about 220 villages inhabited by Bengali settlers in Malkangiri has received a jolt with the Zilla Adivasi Samaj Mahasangha opposing the decision tooth and nail, forcing the district administration to put on hold ongoing g ram and p a l l i sabha meetings.
The Revenue and Disaster Management department, recently in a letter, asked the district administration to conduct gram sabha in all the Bengali settlers' villages and send the resolution for approval to grant revenue village status.
Subsequently, the collector asked all tehsildars who in turn directed the respective block development officers to conduct gram sabha and palli sabha in villages inhabited by Bengali settlers. Accordingly, gram sabha and palli sabha meetings were conducted in all such villages in Kalimela and Malkangiri blocks.
But the meetings were disrupted midway due to stiff opposition from tribal PRI members and leaders over state government's decision to change the nomenclature of alpha numerical Bengali villages to their real names. At present, there are 220 such villages in the district of which 136 are Malkangiri villages (MV) and 84 Malkangiri Potteru villages (MPV).
In Kalimela block alone, there are 41 Malkangiri villages followed by 55 Malkangiri Potteru villages. Contacted, ADM (Revenue) Bedabar Pradhan told this paper that process was started to conduct palli sabha and gram sabha. In some villages, the meetings were conducted but disrupted midway after which meetings have been put on hold.

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