Tribal Woman, Once Bonded Labour, Now Sarpanch

The Chenchu ​​Tribe woman in Nagarkurnool district was elected as the sarpanch of Amaragiri village in the last Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana.

Lingamma, an illiterate man in his 40s, worked as a forced laborer in the region’s Nallamala forests for decades since his childhood before being rescued by government officials a few years ago.

Lingamma said on Saturday that he and other family members had gone fishing on loan in exchange for nets set free of charge by the exploiters.

Bonded labor began with their parents.

“We didn’t even realize how much loan we owed to them. They gave us nets and we had to go fishing. We didn’t even have food to eat in those days,” he told PTI.

He said that the village with a population of approximately 300 was divided into STs in the local elections.

While he was working on social welfare measures such as housing, other residents of the settlement and local officials encouraged him to take part in the survey. However, he faced opposition from an unexpected quarter as his younger brother chose to contest the election.

Lingamma won the brothers’ fight. He said that there were no other contestants in the competition. He also said that he is also educating his daughter, who is currently working as an Anganwadi teacher.

Lingamma said he wanted to work to improve the roads, water and electricity in the village. Gram Panchayat elections were held in Telangana in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17.