The apex rights watchdog passed the order acting on a petition filed by human rights lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy
NHRC (File Photo)
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought Action Taken Report (ATR) from Odisha Chief Secretary over the death of eleven Juanga tribals from the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Keonjhar district of the State.
The apex rights watchdog passed the order acting on a petition filed by human rights lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy.
The petition pointed out that 11 PVTG Juanga tribals, including a 6-month-old infant, in Jantari village of Banspal block of Keonjhar district died due to apathy, negligence, failure of the Health & Family Welfare Department and Tribal welfare department of the State Government. These PVTG people are languishing in abject poverty sans basic human rights.
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The nearest primary health centre at Gonasika is 15 km from the village while the nearest community health centre at Banspal is located 40 km away. Jantari is home to around 100 Juanga families, who are among the most primitive tribal communities in Keonjhar district.
Of the 47,095 Juangs in Odisha enumerated in Census 2011, 26,707 are from Keonjhar district, mostly settled in Banspal, Telkoi and Harichandanpuradministrative blocks.
Juang is one of the 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG) of the total 62 tribes found in Odisha. The ethnic group is mostly found in and around Gonsaika hills of Keonjhar.
The plight of these primitive tribal settlers goes unabated despite the fact that Keonjhar district has the highest collection of district mineral foundation (DMF) funds. The money should have been utilised in priority sectors like safe drinking water supply, health services, education, bare necessities of life and other basic amenities for the local inhabitants considered to be “Son of the Soil”. But utilization of funds for betterment of tribal people has failed to deliver the goods, the petition concluded.
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