Three-day tribal meet to be held at Uttarakhand's Munsiyari in June

A national level tribal meet will be held in Munsiyari of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district from June 1-3 this year to deliberate on problems faced by tribal communities in the country.

The gathering will be attended by representatives of different tribal groups from across India, Vice Chairman of Uttarakhand Scheduled Tribes Commission Ganesh Singh Martolia said on Saturday.

"A major purpose of the meet is to apprise the country with problems being faced by tribal groups in different parts of the country, including the Himalayan states and what the respective governments are doing for their uplift, he said.

Martolia blamed all the departments of the state government for continued migration out of border villages as none of them have fulfilled their responsibilities in this respect.

Despite implementation of schemes worth crores of rupees to stop migration from border villages, they are still living without proper drinking water facilities," the vice chairman said.

However, Martolia said the state government is aware of the lack of basic facilities in villages along the Indo-China border and wants to fulfil all infrastructure needs of the villages in the high-altitude region.

We want to put a ban on polythene bags in tourist places like Munsiyari and develop the region with medical transport and communication facilities to reduce migration to zero level, he said.