Keonjhar: Brazen middlemen and unscrupulous traders are making a killing from customers seeking to buy the famed ‘Rutuka Chhatu’ even as collectors of the rare mushroom, which grows on the forest bed in the district by braving the odds of nature and wildlife, continue to get a pittance. According to reports, while traders are selling ‘Rutuka Chhatu’ at a premium of anything between Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per kg in cities like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the tribals, who collect the seasonal vegetable (or fungi), end up getting only Rs 20 to Rs 50 for a cone (made up of leaves, with around 250 gram content) of the delicacy from middlemen. Sources said different types of mushrooms bloom in the forest during rains, ‘Rutuka Chhatu’ being one among those. This variety of mushroom blooms on the forest floor after the onset of monsoon, and lasts for about a month.
During summer, dried leaves cover the forest floor. After the first few spells of monsoon shower, the leaves, aided by moisture and bacterial growth in the wet soil, form compost. This helps the spores come out of the ground, it was learnt. Sources said among the mushrooms that grow in the natural environment in the forests of Keonjhar district, ‘Rutuka Chhatu’ is in high demand all over, from rural to urban areas. And middlemen as well as traders keep a close eye on the valued forest produce. “The forest dwellers mostly collect the mushroom from forests, hills and the adjoining fields and carry the content to markets for sale. From the proceeds of the sale, they meet their family expenses, like buying cooking oil and salt. Middlemen at these markets exploit them with abysmally lower prices and lessening weight. Therefore, they continue to remain impoverished,” said retired teacher Pranab Rautray. Usually, middlemen take complete possession of the first batch of the produce and sell it for Rs 600-800 per kilogram in retail. The price comes down gradually as larger quantities arrive in subsequent periods. Therefore, the mushroom that remains beyond the reach of ordinary buyers initially becomes affordable when the price drops to less than Rs 200 per kilogram. However, the forest dwellers usually sell the mushroom for Rs 20 to Rs 50 per Chauti (cones made of leaves) as per the size of the cone. Cunning middlemen play truant and sell large consignments to traders, who in turn sell those in big towns like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar at more than Rs 1,000 per kilogram. Therefore, while the middlemen and traders make hay, poor collectors never get their due, and forget profits. The hapless collectors not only face exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous traders and middlemen, but many times, they face hazards from snakes, bears, elephants and other wild animals in the jungles. After painstakingly collecting the mushrooms by braving the odds of nature, they walk miles to distant marketplaces with bags on their heads in hot and humid weather conditions to sell them. It is worth mentioning that the seasonal mushroom business in the district runs into crores of rupees every year.