Scheduled Tribe status sought for Bara Bhangal

Residents of Bara Bhangal in Kangra district have urged the state government to grant the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to their village.

In a resolution sent to the government, the panchayat of Bara Bhangal has said that the village remains cut off from the main land for several month and there is no road or any other form of connectivity to it. If the village is granted the ST status, it will become eligible for special development funds from the Central Government, the villagers said. Bara Bhangal panchayat has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

Bara Bhangal village has a population of about 700 and 470 people of this are registered voters. Tucked deep in the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges of the Himalayas at a height of 7,700 feet, Bara Bhangal is the remotest village of the hill state. A polling booth was first set up in the village during the Assembly elections in 2007 after 60 years of Independence. Helicopters were used to lift polling parties to the polling booth in the village during the previous three elections.

Before 2007, the villagers used to trek 72 km through the 4,654-metre high Thamsar Pass or travel more than 300 km via Chamba to reach Bir in Baijnath (Kangra district) to exercise their franchise.

Most of the people in this village are nomad shepherds and migrate to Bir during the winter. However, many of them stay in the village, braving the harsh weather. During the summer, a large number of shepherds take their animals across the Dhauladhars to green fields for grazing.