Tamil Nadu government urged to create new Bedagampana community

Members also want to be included in Scheduled Tribes list

Malaival Bedagampana Lingayat Munnetra Nala Sangam has reiterated the demand that the State government create a new community named Bedagampana and take immediate steps to include it in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.

The association meeting was held at Periya Gundri recently in which its members from Bargur, Kadambur and Talavadi took part and passed various resolutions.

A resolution said that over 32,000 people reside in the three hill areas and income from farming, rearing cattle and livestock, was their sole income. Though they belonged to the Bedagampana community, they were wrongly mentioned as Lingayat (Jangama) in the government orders issued in 1985 and 2009, the resolution said and added that they had no relationship with the Lingayat community.

In the absence of reservation in higher education and in government jobs, their community members faced difficulty in coming.

Other resolutions included protecting the local livestock in Bargur hills and allowing cattle rearing in forest areas, starting of nationalised bank branch in Bargur, permitting their community members to celebrate traditional festivals and other government functions at the poramboke land in survey number 230 at Thurusanampalayam village and introducing Kannada as a language subject in government schools functioning at Bargur and Kadambur.

Another resolution wanted sports grounds to be established at Devarmalai, Osur and at Bargur.