ST status for Kudumi Mohanta demanded

BARIPADA: Members of the Kudumi Sena in Mayurbhanj district submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi through collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde on Tuesday, demanding the inclusion of the Kudumi Mohanta community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.

Jaymoni Mohanta, the founder of the outfit, said that people of the community have been deprived of welfare schemes and other benefits introduced by government for the tribals. He also said the Centre excluded their community from the ST list in September 1950 without any reason.

He said, lakhs of people of the community are residing across Odisha and its neighbouring West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam. “Like other tribes, they share similar art, culture, traditions, and religion. However, their demand for re-inclusion in the ST list has been ignored by both the state government and the Centre, despite being raised at various levels,” Jaymoni stated.