Chitrakonda: The bamboo forest in Mantriput ghat of Tonelcamp panchayat – about nine kilometres from Chitrakonda area of Malkangiri district has started bearing flowers leaving local tribals a worried bunch.
They often consider this ‘once in a generation phenomenon’ as a bad omen – often as an advanced signal of ensuing drought or natural calamities, though there is nothing concrete to substantiate such a belief.
While many among the educated bunch do not wish to subscribe to this idea, local residents are in fear and trepidation, worrying about the difficulties in store for them.
The flowers often come up when growth peaks in bamboo forests. Subsequently the stems get cracked. The flowers usually have hardened material in them that look like rice. Bamboo rice is widely consumed by tribals as and when they appear.
The elderly people in the locality suggest that this happens once in a 15 to 20 years time in different areas.
Hundreds of people have started thronging the spot to witness the rarest of the rare phenomenon after the news broke.