Udayagiri: Tribals under this block in the Gajapati district are suffering and losing out on their earnings as they are oblivious about the prices fixed by the state government for minor forest produces. As a result, they are getting fleeced by unscrupulous traders who are making huge profits at the expense of the ignorant tribals, sources said Friday. One of the main forest products that the tribal people depend upon for their livelihood is Mahua flowers. Braving the scorching heat, tribal women collect Mahua flowers from the forests. However, then they do not get the right price while selling the flowers to the traders. This is because the government is yet to finalise a price for selling the flowers by the tribals. The Excise department has been issuing licenses for hoarding Mahua flowers to traders.
However, no such permission has been given to the tribals. Hence the tribal people are failing to reap the benefits of their hard work. People with permission to hoard the flowers are buying those at dirt-cheap rates exploiting the tribals. This year plenty of Mahua flowers grew in Mohana, Nuagarh, and R Udayagiri blocks in the Gajapati district. However, the tribals got a meager price for their efforts. Traders bought the flowers at Rs 15 to Rs 20 per kilogram.
Later on, they went on to sell the same at more than Rs 50 per kilogram to traders of other states and in the process made a killing. However, the ignorant tribals failed to earn a substantial sum. A section of the tribal groups has now asked the government to fix a price for Mahua flowers so that they can also benefit. They have also asked the government to take action against the unscrupulous traders. The tribals have demanded storage facilities for the flowers as soon as possible.