Survey on Kuruba community to be submitted in 12 months

The ongoing study on the inclusion of Kuruba community into the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list will take another 12 months for completion.

Twenty teams of the State Tribal Research Institute in Mysuru is conducting a survey across the State and collecting all the details. The survey was launched in October 2019 at Haveri district. It will be conducted in 26 districts in the State, except Bidar, Yadgir, Kalaburagi and Kodagu districts.

The teams have already completed the survey in 23 districts and are yet to be completed in the remaining three districts. The works had to be stalled from March to September 2020, in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

The first phase of works is nearing completion. The coding of the survey will be taken up in the second phase. A report on the social, financial, educational and political status of the Kuruba community will be prepared in the third phase.

The draft will have to be submitted to an expert committee. The team requires time to submit the report, said Institute director
Prof T B Basavanagowda.

Periyapatna, Nanjagud, T Narasipur, Saragur taluks have been selected for study in Mysuru district.

The teams have conducted a survey of 12,043 families so far, by staying with the families, studying their daily activities, lifestyle, beliefs, customs, culture, marriage and others. Besides, the study is also being conducted on the criteria suggested by B N Lokur Committee, he explained.

The Social Welfare Department had directed the Institute to conduct a study on Kuruba community in May 2019 and sanctioned Rs 40 lakh for the purpose.