Protests against Corruption

A protest meeting was held in front of the Zonal office, Patratu on 14 June 2016 under the leadership of the Jharkhand Gramin Mazdoor Sabha (Patratu block) on the issue of corruption in disbursement of ration-kerosene. A 22-point charter of demands was submitted to the Jharkhand government. Ration-kerosene has not been disbursed by the dealer for the last 3 to 8 months in the villages of Baridih and Kadru in the remote hilly adivasi areas of Baridih panchayat. The Gramin Mazdoor Sabha had submitted a petition protesting against this, signed by 150 consumers from Baridih and 100 from Kadru village, to the Zonal officer and the Deputy Commissioner. Thereafter, 65 consumers of Baridih village were given rations. However, the rest have still not been given ration and no action has been taken against the dealer. This had created much dissatisfaction among the villagers, hundreds of whom joined the protest.

In another protest, a rally was taken out through the Patratu bazaar to demand “dakhal” (possession) on lands given to adivasis through Bhoodaan in the Hudumgarh village of Jawahar Nagar panchayat and against illegal capture of these lands by dominant forces. The protest was also against the sale of rural raiyati lands to corporate companies by the land mafia in Kurse village (Kurse panchayat), further demanding that the legitimate peasants should be given possession of these lands. The protestors warned that if the issues of the poor were not adequately addressed and if the corruption in the issuance of caste and domicile certificates, dakhal-kharij of lands and distribution of ration-kerosene was not ended, the Gramin Sabha would launch a big and sustained agitation against this.

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