Chhendipada: Thirteen nomad families who make a living by selling homemade products like brooms and mats have refused to accept the food provided by the district administration here. Instead they want the money that is being spent to prepare cooked food for them, be used to fight coronavirus. The 13 families comprising 48 members stay at Dhobamaliha village of Raijharan panchayat under Chhendipada block in Angul district. Originally they are from Raipur in Chhattisgarh, but have been staying in the village for the last six years.
The members of the nomad tribe told the administrative officials when they reached the village Saturday to offer food that they were well-prepared to face the lockdown which has been extended in Odisha till April 30. Instead, they asked the administration to allow them to sell their products. “With all markets being closed due to the lockdown we are not getting a chance to sell our products. Hence we appeal to you to at least open some markets from which we will be able to sell the brooms and mats we make,” they said in unison.
When contacted, Angul district sub-collector Basudev Satpathy said all the markets have been closed due to lockdown. “Also it is not possible for us to buy their products,” said Satpathy. “They will be offered cooked food like it is being done to people from other states stuck in the district. It is up to them whether they accepted the food or not,” Satpathy added.
PNN