In Odisha’s Kandhamal, tribals plan to defeat corona by traditional farming
Miles away from Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, they live in the lap of virgin, lush green forests, without much expectations of what the modern man wants — motor cars, bikes vehicles, enough cash in hand and other luxury items. What they mostly long for is unhindered access to the forest land in their vicinity. Their forefathers had access to the lands and they even grew a variety of crops in them until the state forest department allegedly snatched the patches to plant trees under the afforestation programme.
This is the story of the primitive Kutia Kondh tribals living in the hilltop villages under Belaghar gram panchayat in Odisha’s Kandhamal district. The 6,500-odd Kutia Kondhs, most of whom have not climbed down the plains below the hilltops and seen the district headquarters, primarily depend upon traditional agriculture practices and collection of forest produces for survival.
Working for a few hours in the forenoon session in the lands and getting themselves lost in music and dance in the evening was their way of life. However, this simple life has allegedly been disturbed in the past few years after the forest department took away their long-occupied land. Efforts to reoccupy their lands under Forest Rights Act-2006 have often led to direct confrontation and incarceration of leaders.
“I have been cultivating a patch of land measuring around one acre since long. But a few years ago, the forest department took away the land and planted non-forest species plants in it. When we opposed, we were booked under various charges and some of us were arrested. A few of our villagers had to languish in jail for months,” says a Kutia Kondh woman Sandegadu Majhi of Burlubaru village.
Things have changed for the better in the area now. Awakened about their rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, usually referred to as the Forest Rights Act, they have begun to make claims over the forest land they have been cultivating for years for a sustainable living.