Bhubaneswar: The members of Dongria Kondh community at Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills have decided to boycott the 2024 simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state.

“We have decided to boycott the 2024 polls to protest against the government’s apathetic attitude towards the development of Dongria Kondh community,” said Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti president Lodu Sikaka today.

Many members of Dongria Kondh community have been framed in false cases for their agitation against the misutilization of natural resources including minerals, water, land and forests of Niyamgiri, alleged Sikaka.

Crores of Rupees have been allocated by the successive governments at the Centre and state for the development of Dongria Kondhs of Niyamgiri. But, the funds have been misappropriated by some officials and influential people, claimed Sikaka.

“Members of our community including then women and children are yet to get the basic healthcare facilities. Malnutrition is rampant among the Dongria Kondhs of Niyamgiri. We have decided to boycott the polls after consulting our community members residing in different areas of the hill range,” said Sikaka.

Notably, people of Dongria Kondh, a tribal group, have been residing in the Niyamgiri hills, located in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Odisha.