THE oft repeated story of exploitation
has raised its ugly head again, this time
in Orissa's Kalahandi district. Women
of the mainly tribal population in the
panchayats of Thuamul Rampur,
Kaniguma and Nakrundi, who collect
phoo1jitadu (broomsticks) - a minor
forest produce - from the jungle, are
forced to sell them for as little as Rs 3.90
a kg to the Tribal Development
Cooperative Corporation Limited
(TDCCO). The TDCCO then makes
brooms out of these and sells them at
the rate of Rs 18 for 3 pieces made from
1 kg of broornsticks.
The lament of the tribal women who
risk their lives every time they step into
the jungle is that they are prevented
from making the brooms themselves
and profiting from their sales. In spite of
an. order procured on March 13 to
enable them to not only collect but also
sell the forest produce, the actual state of
affairs remains the same. When
Kalahandi's District Rural Development
Agency encouraged the women to make
and sell the brooms recently, TDCCO Officials harassed them and seized the
brooms, complains Dilip Das, head of
Antyodaya, a philanthropic organisation working in the area.
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