Gutti Koya Tribals

A Forest Range Officer (FRO) was brutally killed allegedly by a group of Gutti Koya Adivasis with axes and sickles over a “podu land” issue in Errabodu forest area in Chandrugonda mandal of Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district.

About Koyas –

• The Koya population is concentrated in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
• The Koyas speak the Koya language, which is a Dravidian language.
• Most important fair celebrated by Koyas is the Sammakka Saralamma Jatra once in two years on full moon day of the Magha Masam (January or February) at Medaram village in Mulug taluk of Warangal district.

What is ‘Podu cultivation’?

Podu is a form of shifting cultivation, as practiced by various tribal groups in forest areas has for long been an economical survival versus environmental sustenance issue.