President Droupadi Murmu meets Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups' members, stresses on education

President Droupadi Murmu Thursday met members of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) at the Raj Bhavan here on Thursday and asked Odisha government to handhold PVTGs, whose number is very small in the state.

The PVTGs are the most backward and there is therefore the need for immediate government help to them for their uplift, Murmu said at the meeting held at the Raj Bhavan here on the last day of her three-day visit to her home state.

She urged the PVTGs to give "utmost" importance to education. There is special provision of seats for students from the PVTG community at the Eklavya Model Residential Schools, besides in the National Fellowship and Overseas Scholarship Scheme, the president said.

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She asked Odisha tribal affairs minister who was present at the meeting to lay emphasis on the education and skill development of PVTGs.

"Do not forget to send your children to school. Both girls and boys must go to school and acquire education as only it can remove your problems," she told the participants.

The president expressed her happiness when she came to know that a girl from the PVTG community is a graduate and asked the ST and SC minister to do something for her as she is unemployed.

Expressing happiness that the Centre has launched the Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission, she urged women of the community to take advantage of various schemes, including the Tribal Women Empowerment Scheme.

Murmu interacted with 50 members of 10 PVTGs and also stressed on the improvement in the health of its people, one of the participants said.

As the first tribal president of the country she has met 1800 PVTG members across the country since assuming office a year ago. She had met members of three PVTGs during her visit to Manyurbhanj, her home district, earlier, an official said.

Of the 75 PVTGs in India, 13 reside in Odisha and constitute 22 per cent of the state’s population. The PVTGs in Odisha are Bonda, Birhor, Chuktia Bhunjia, Didayi, Dungaria Kandha, Hill Kharia, Juang, Kutia Kondh, Lanjia Saora, Lodha, Mankirdia, Paudi Bhuyan and Saora.

Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal, state ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Class Welfare Minister Jagannath Saraka and department secretary were present at Murmu's interaction with the PVTGs, the official said.

After the meeting a woman representative of the Kutia Kondh tribe from Kandhamal said Murmu had inquired about the condition of the participants' homes, education of their children, agriculture, roads and other amenities.

"We told her that nothing was right in our villages. The president has assured us to speak to the state government about the difficulties faced by the PVTGs," she added.