There is a sense of jubilation in tribal villages located inside the Similipal Tiger Reserve of Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. On February 6, President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the BSNL’s 4G services in the Similipal region, thereby, for the first time virtually connecting thousands of Adivasi families living inside the protected area with the outside world. President Murmu, a Santhal Adivasi, belongs to Uparbeda village in Mayurbhanj.
During an event organised at Gudugudia village in Jashipur tehsil of Mayurbhanj, Murmu interacted with the local tribal communities. She said the people of Similipal would now have access to uninterrupted internet connection. Through this, they will be able to access news and digital services at their fingertips. She also noted that internet connectivity will be highly beneficial for the education of tribal students and employment prospects of the youth.
“It’s a watershed moment for people living in three gram panchayats of Similipal Tiger Reserve area as the Honourable President launched BSNL 4G mobile service and internet connectivity,” Barna Baibhaba Panda, a development professional associated with Odisha’s community conservation movement for three decades, told Down To Earth (DTE).
“This is expected to transform education and health services delivery for the tribals living inside this area. Improved basic services and livelihood opportunities will enable better collaborative conservation frameworks where humans and wildlife coexist,” he said.
There is a celebratory mood in Similipal. “Adivasi families living inside Similipal Tiger Reserve are very happy with the recent development. They had been campaigning and demanding a mobile phone network and internet access for the past few years. Finally, their voices have been heard and acted upon,” Dhaneswar Mohanta, a forest rights activist, told DTE. He works with a local non-profit, Centre for Regional Education, Forest and Tourism Development Agency (CREFTDA), and has been working in the forest villages of Similipal since 1991.
Since 2015, Similipal Vikas Parishad, a collective of 43 gram sabhas from tribal villages in Gudugudia, Barheipani and Astakuanr gram panchayats inside the reserve, has been fighting for the rights of the tribal population living inside the tiger reserve. In November 2023, there was a face-off between the Parishad and the forest department. It was peak tourist season, and Parishad members blocked the gates of the reserve, preventing outsiders from entering.
They did this to get the attention of the authorities and demand better roads and connectivity for their villages under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. They also petitioned for mobile towers, a concrete bridge across the reserve’s main road, drinking water facilities, electricity connection for households, and employment opportunities for the youth of Similipal.
The Parishad, the tiger reserve officials and the Jashipur police reached a consensus after more than a month, and the reserve was finally reopened to the public in December 2023 after agreeing upon a set of demands, one of which was a mobile tower and internet access inside the reserve.
“For Adivasi communities living inside Similipal Tiger Reserve, mobile phone connectivity and internet access is not a luxury. It is their basic need,” said Mohanta.
“Almost all government work, such as Aadhaar, old age pension, income certificate, and other social security schemes, are done online. Tribal villagers inside Similipal are forced to travel 40-50 kilometres to Jashipur block headquarters for smallest of query or updation of information. Often, they have to make multiple trips and public transportation services are poor,” he said.
Access to a mobile network and internet will also help improve local livelihoods and earnings of villagers. “To sell paddy or non-timber forest produce such as sal seeds to the government, villagers have to every year enroll on the government portal. Lack of access to the internet means tribal people inside Similipal cannot register and sell to the government at MSP [minimum support price]. They cannot even receive a simple OTP for verification purposes,” explained Mohanta.
This forces villagers inside Similipal to sell their produce at a very low rate to private traders: “As against an MSP of Rs 3,400 per quintal of paddy, Adivasis sell it for as low as Rs 1,500-1,700. Similar is the case with other forest produce, such as honey. Disconnected means no fair price for their produce and no bargaining power.”
With the inauguration of BSNL’s 4G services in the Similipal region, the lives and livelihoods of tribal communities are likely to change for the better.
India isn’t a land of uninhabited wilderness, said Panda. “Now, people inside Similipal will have access to market information for their agricultural, livestock, and non-timber forest products.”
Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) is spread across 2,750 square kilometres (sq km) and consists of the core (or inviolate or national park) area, a buffer zone and a transition zone (see map). Similipal is also a UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve with rich biodiversity.
It is estimated that there are 1,265 villages inside the Similipal Biosphere Reserve of 2,750 sq km with a total population of 4.98 lakh or 0.498 million, of whom 73.44 per cent belong to the scheduled tribes. The population inside Similipal Tiger Reserve (core and buffer areas) is about 12,500 people in 61 villages in the buffer zone. They belong to 20 tribal groups, including the Kol, Ho, Santhal, Munda, and Bhumij, as well as particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) like the Hill-Khadia (or Khadia) and Mankadia.
During her visit to Gudugudia on February 6, President Murmu also interacted with local students, tribal women and youth of Similipal. She advised the students to pursue higher education and become self-reliant and employable.
Members of Similipal Vikas Parishad presented their own plan of human-wildlife co-existence and development of their region to the President. It included recommendations that emerged from a Similipal youth conference that was organised last month, on January 18, said Mohanta.
“Development aspirations of local people and wildlife conservation can go hand in hand. Let’s make a beginning in Similipal, the signature landscape of Odisha,” said Panda.