Team Herald
MARGAO: The Scheduled Tribes (ST) community, along with the United Tribal Associations
Alliance (UTAA), has condemned the casteist remark made by Orville Vales, the panchayat secretary of Sancoale village, and demanded his immediate suspension.
The United Tribal Associations Alliance (UTAA) has issued a two-day ultimatum to the government to take action against Vales.
Speaking to reporters in Margao, Cortalim MLA Antonio Vas expressed his outrage over the derogatory remarks aimed at social activist Rama Kankonkar during Premanand Naik’s hunger strike related to the Bhutani mega project. “Besides me, the entire Scheduled Tribe community felt insulted by these remarks, especially coming from a government servant. We demand the immediate suspension of the panchayat secretary,” he said. Vas added that he has already brought this issue to the attention of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, urging swift action.
Prakash Velip, President of the UTAA, issued a two-day ultimatum for the government to suspend Vales and take necessary action against him. He emphasized that such remarks amounted to an atrocity, demanding strict action in line with the complaint filed at the Verna police station.
“We will not tolerate such insults towards our community members, and this issue must be addressed immediately,” Velip stated.
UTAA pushes for govt holiday to honour tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda
Team Herald
MARGAO: The United Tribal Association Alliance (UTAA) is calling on the Goa government to declare a public holiday in honour of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda on his birth anniversary, November 15.
Prakash Velip, President of the UTAA, announced plans to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant demanding this holiday. He emphasised the importance of recognising Munda’s contributions to the tribal community and noted that several States have already declared a public holiday in his honour.
Preparations are also underway for a significant gathering to commemorate 20 years of UTAA’s activism, including the upcoming “UTAA Prerna Yatra.” Velip highlighted that events such as a “Run for UTAA” and large rallies across all 10 ST-dominated talukas of Goa are planned, along with the release of a documentary on the same day. During the function scheduled to take place at Farmagudi, several resolutions addressing critical issues like forest rights, political reservation in the Goa Assembly, and land rights protection for the ST community will be passed. Velip noted that meetings have already been held in 650 ST-dominated wards across the 10 talukas to discuss these issues.
“Munda fought against the British to safeguard the rights of the tribal community, and he deserves recognition. Goa has a significant tribal population, and we urge the government to take this demand seriously,” Velip stated.