Keonjhar: Rampant smuggling of kendu leaves is on the rise in areas under the Keonjhar forest division. This is happening due to the lack of proper security measures to protect the pluckers, sources pointed out Tuesday. With the leaves being illegally sent to neighbouring Jharkhand and West Bengal, the Odisha government is also losing out on huge amount of revenues. Sources said that more than 3,200 pluckers eke out their living by plucking kendu leaves from jungles in Rairangpur, Asana, Jashipur and Bangiriposhi forest sections. Most of the pluckers are women and the money they earn helps them to run their families. The Forest department usually buys each bundle of kendu leaves at Rs 3.20. However, the payment is always delayed.
Taking advantage of this fact, local traders and some from outside the state dupe the pluckers. They offer lesser rates, but instant payments which suit the pluckers, and hence they sell the bundles. So both the government and the pluckers lose out on money. Once the traders buy the kendu leaves, they smuggle their acquisitions through roads in Mayurbhanj district.
Sources pointed out that despite getting better rates from the Odisha government, the pluckers prefer the traders. The pluckers do not have the wherewithal to wait for the payment from the government as they have to maintain their livelihood and also repay loans. There are various other reasons as to why pluckers are forced to sell off their collection at rates that are less than that offered by the government. First, it is these traders who lend money to the poor pluckers. It helps the traders have tight control over the pluckers.
Secondly, the traders who smuggle the leaves also resort to force at times to create terror in the minds of the pluckers. Without any security measures in place for them, the pluckers have no other option, but to sell the leaves to these corrupt traders. It should be stated here that a couple of years back, miscreants hired by the traders, set on fire a storeroom full of kendu leaves. This act created fear in the minds of the pluckers and currently, they do not look at any other option to sell the leaves. The pluckers know that they are being fleeced and exploited, but even then will not seek other options. Kendu leaf division secretary Sanjay Choudhury said that the only way to fight the menace created by the traders is to make instant payments to the pluckers. Also security measures should be implemented to protect the pluckers, he added. Choudhury also pointed out that the state government should provide other benefits to the pluckers like monthly wages and educational facilities for their kids. He also pointed out that borders with neighbouring states must be guarded properly to prevent the smuggling of kendu leaves. When contacted, Bangiriposhi forest ranger Kedarnath Mallick said that the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) annually conducts an auction to buy kendu leaves. “Last year in the auction, business to the tune of `46.77 lakh was done. The amount can increase manifold if smuggling of leaves can be restricted,” Mallick informed.