A six-member team of tribal and regional languages department of Ranchi University in Jharkhand left for Bihar on Monday for a study on the pre-historic Rohtasgarh Fort.

Bandhu Tirkey, working president of the Congress’s state unit and member of the coordination committee of the Jharkhand government, is bearing all the expenses of the study tour.

Speaking to The Telegraph on Monday, Tirkey said: “The six-member team of Ranchi University tribal and regional languages department will do a study of the Rohtasgarh Fort for nearly 10 days and submit its report to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and state tourism minister Tejashwi Yadav and a copy to Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren.”

Tirkey had on the invitation of former Bihar chief minister and RJD national president Lalu Prasad met the veteran leader at his Patna residence in October last week and discussed the importance of conserving the Rohtasgarh Fort, a sacred site for the Oraon tribals, and improving the condition of the tribals residing near the fort.

Tirkey expressed confidence that the result of the research to assess the educational, social and actual condition of the tribals, especially the Oraon tribe living in Rohtasgarh Fort and its surrounding areas, will help the Bihar government in making a road map for the conservation and development of the fort.

“The research report will not only bring out the current social, economic and political situation of the tribals but will also be very important from the point of view of future policymaking. It will also help in the uplift of the tribals,” Tirkey said.

Hari Oraon, the coordinator of the tribal and regional languages department and chairperson of the Kudukh language department of Ranchi University, said this was a positive effort by the university towards researching tribal life, culture and conditions and setting the direction for the future.

He said that in the future too, the department of tribal and regional languages would make efforts to encourage research on important sites from the point of view of tribal tradition and culture.

The research team will study the social, political and employment of the tribals and trace the reasons for their arrival and subsequent migration.

“It will also study the administrative and judicial system of the Oraon tribe, methods and provisions of dispute settlement, construction of the Rohtasgarh Fort and the archaeological importance of the place,” Oraon said.

The senior academic claimed that there was a significant number of tribals, especially the Oraon tribe, in the 85 villages around Rohtasgarh.