GUWAHATI, Feb 14 ? Joining the anti-Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) bandwagon, the Assam Tea and Ex-tea Tribes, Youth Association today said far from solving the existing problems, the BTC will complicate the matters and lead to more disturbances. The general secretary of the association, Bhuban Rao, told newsmen that the tea tribes, who are already the most suppressed lot in the State, would suffer even more under the circumstances as only five seats have been left for non-Bodos whereas the tea-tribes alone constituted around 65 per cent of the total population there.
The State Government had totally failed to protect the lives and property of the Adivasis, thousands of whom are languishing now in the refugee camps even without the very basic amenities, and their lot is likely to turn worse under the BTC regime, he said. Under the BTC, rights and opportunities for the non-Bodos will definitely get a backseat, he felt. Rao was also of the view that the State Government was almost ?coerced into signing the BTC accord by the Centre without being allowed to have much say in the matter?.
The association also called for scheduling of the tea-tribes in the State so as to ensure their legitimate constitutional rights and grants. Opposing the Centre?s contention that ?migrated? tea-tribes can claim benefits only in their original States, Rao said the tea-tribes did not migrate to Assam their own will, but were lured to the State on false promises and made to stay there thereafter. The association today formed a 25-member ?Sports and Education Trust? devoted to the cause of the downtrodden tea-tribe people. It has also adopted an eight-point resolution aimed mainly at providing financial assistance to needy and talented youths from the community. It will also offer training and guidance on various vocational courses to the youths in order to make them self-reliant. It has further arranged for collection of funds through a gift coupon lottery to implement its programme in the first phase. Welfare Commissioner of the Assam Tea Employees? Welfare Board, Ganesh Chandra Kurmi, formally inaugurated the trust today.