Police in West Burdwan’s tribal-dominated areas have launched first-of-its-kind grassroots initiative for adivasi youths to address the problem of their alienation.
The move stands out as local political leaders have been left out of the outreach programme that aims to improve the image of the Mamata Banerjee government.
Police in Kanksa block inaugurated the Adibasi Unnayan Manch at the local police station on the occasion of World Tribal Day on Sunday.
“The intention is to create a support system for tribal people in the area so that their needs and queries can be attended to without delay. The Manch will work primarily as an NGO backed by police personnel and civic volunteers,” said Abhishek Gupta, deputy commissioner of police (east).
“Whether it be arranging an ambulance or clearing a doubt regarding a government scheme, this platform is here to help them,” added Gupta.
Sources said the platform would function on a day-to-day basis over a WhatsApp group consisting of youths with smartphones as well as Kanksa police personnel and volunteers.
“Once we are informed of a grievance through the group, we will get in touch with the local residents and respond immediately,” said Arnab Guha, inspector-in-charge of Kanksa police station.
While the police are pitching it as a community initiative, sources in the Trinamul Congress said the aim was to reach out to the tribal community ahead of the next year’s Assembly polls.
“The local politicians are discredited... It’s better to involve police in addressing the problems of tribal people,” said a Trinamul insider.
The district police’s initiative in addressing tribal population’s grievances, ahead of a major election, has political reasons as Kanksa is home to over 67,000 voters spread across 89 villages.
Traditionally supporters of the CPM, adivasis of Burdwan, along with those in neighbouring districts like Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and West Midnapore, began shifting to Trinamul following its ascent to power in 2011. The situation, however, started changing and the relationship between Trinamul and tribal communities soured with rising reports of Trinamul leaders’ corruption and lavish lifestyles. The nadir for Trinamul reached during the 2018 rural polls when the BJP — on the back of aggressive ground campaigns by RSS branches — performed unexpectedly well.
The 2019 Lok Sabha elections, said a source in Trinamul, were “the final wake-up call for the party” when the BJP did remarkably well in Bengal by bagging 18 seats and securing huge leads in the adivasi-dominated areas.
“We cannot afford to ignore the rise of the BJP among the tribal communities... We are on the verge of being sunk in this area, and this initiative by the police will be the make-or-break factor for the 2021 Assembly elections,” said a local Trinamul functionary.
“If people can feel they are being attended to, then it can undo some past damages,” the leader added.
The similar model, sources said, would be rolled out in other tribal-dominated areas across Bengal.
Nagendranath Murmu, 62, morol (head) of Adibasi Unnayan Manch in Kanksa, welcomed the move. “It is a good initiative where we can directly interact with the government and police officials. Let us see how it works now.”
