PALAKKAD: The foundation stone for the new office building of the Thaikula Sangham was laid by Attappadi block panchayat president Ravindradas on Sunday. The Thaikula Sangham, representing the adivasi women, was set up in Attappadi in 2001. Since then it has been addressing the issue of atrocities against women.
Initially, the Sangham concentrated its activities on busting illegal ganja cultivation and liquor brewing centres. The influence of ganja and illicit liquor was allegedly prompting the male adivasis to harass women.
“The Thaikula Sangham is gradually shifting its focus to dealing with other modes of atrocities against women,” said a woman member of the group.
She said that the new building of the Sangham was being built by the Attappadi Hill Area Development Society(Ahads) at a cost of around Rs 10 lakh. Though the Sangham began functioning eight years ago, it was registered only two years ago. Sources close to the Sangham said that political parties often took a lackadaisical attitude towards the problems being faced by the adivasis.
They said that even now there had been raging debates on whether the Attappadi area was a prohibited area for liquor or not.
The voluntary organisations say that though the government had declared Attappadi a liquor-prohibited area, the Excise Department vehemently denied it and the political parties keep mum on the issue.
Representatives of the Thaikula Sangham said that both the police and the Excise personnel would not do anything against the illicit brewers and they act only when there was intervention from higher authorities.
It is in this context that the Thaikula Sangham decided to act as a pressure group.
The sources said that once the construction of the office complex is completed, it could function as a short-stay home for the harassed adivasi women.