Mail News Service
Jamshedpur, Nov 19: Kunjal Lakra was the first man to claim ownership rights for the 86 Bastis. A prominent resident and founder of Birsanagar, Kunjal Lakra’s first death anniversary will be observed on Friday 20th November. A life size statue has been delivered and members of the Birsa Seva Dal Panchayat Samiti have gone to work to set Kunjaql Lakra’s statue at the Sunday Market grounds next to that of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. The statue will be unveiled by East Jamshedpur constituency legislator Saryu Roy on Friday, November 20 at 3 pm.
Kunjal Lakra who was the president of Birsa Seva Dal Panchayat Samiti and secretary of Birsanagar Welfare Society was a Telco (now Tata Motors) employee and an active member of Telco Workers’ Union from 1965 to 2002. His name came into prominence on June 6, 1966 when goons had been sent to Birsanagar to evict the residents and he led residents in chasing the goons away. The clash led to many deaths on both sides.
In 1970, Kunjal Lakra and his followers made huts and started residing in Birsanagar in 1970. In 1971, he named the colony after Dharti Aba Birsa Munda. At that point of time Birsanagar was mostly jungle area. Birsanagar started with three houses and today, it is a huge and buzzing locality of the city.
Kunjal Lakra’s ancestral village is in Diluwakota village of Angara in Ranchi. His initial education was in Tatisilway School. He passed his Matriculation examination from St Louis School and completed his PU from Ranchi College. Kunjal Lakra had written a book on Ownership Right (Malikana Haq) which was published in 2015. He loved writing. He fought the 1985 Assembly election from the Jamshedpur East constituency on a Jharkhand Party ticket but did not win.