TV
Baripada witnessed tense moments on Saturday as members of the Adivasi Kudumi Samaj and Odisha Kudumi Sena staged a rail blockade at Bhanjpur railway station, pressing for their long-standing demand to be recognised as a Scheduled Tribe (ST).
Hundreds of agitators squatted on the railway tracks, disrupting train movement for several hours. The Bangriposhi–Bhubaneswar Superfast Express was forced to halt at Bhanjpur station during the agitation, leading to inconvenience for passengers.
Railway services resumed only after the protesters withdrew following talks with local officials.
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The Kudumi community, spread across districts such as Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, and Sundargarh in Odisha, as well as in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam, has been persistently voicing the demand for tribal status.
According to community leaders, the Kudumis were earlier listed as a Scheduled Tribe, but in 1950, the government excluded them from the ST list. Since then, the community has organised multiple protests and agitations, seeking restoration of their tribal recognition.
Leaders of the Kudumi organisations argue that the removal of their tribal status has deprived them of constitutional safeguards and benefits meant for marginalised communities. They have urged both the state and central governments to address the issue without further delay.
The protest in Baripada is the latest in a series of demonstrations held across eastern India as the Kudumi community continues its decades-long struggle for recognition.
