Keonjhar: As summer comes calling, tribals in Keonjhar district begin selling mangoes and other fruits to eke out a living. However, a lack of awareness and absence of a support system has meant that the tribals sell the fruits for throwaway prices, much lesser than prevailing costs in urban areas.
Besides, the huge amount of mangoes that the tribals painstakingly collect from forests go to rot after remaining unsold for days together due lack of storage facilities. Experts and social activists are of the view that the government should create market facilities or make alternative provisions for using the mangoes for fruit juice or other products in case large stocks are left unsold.
Fearing damage, the tribals sell their mangoes to traders at throwaway prices. “Our mangoes remain unsold due to absence of marketing and storage facilities. Sometimes, due to bad weather conditions or exploitative traders, we also suffer losses,” some tribals lamented.
Social activists said poor tribals remain backward and are unable to improve their socio-economic condition under such circumstances.
This year, the harvest of indigenous and hybrid mangoes increased due to good weather conditions. Hybrid mangoes command good price in the market, but the indigenous variety finds no takers. Tribal women and kids are regularly seen along the roadside selling mangoes for dirt-cheap rates. Unsold mangoes which are beginning to show signs of decay are usually tossed in for free.
Tribals say the indigenous variety trees are fast vanishing from forests due to a spurt in operations of the mining and timber mafia. On the other hand, firms of hybrid variety are being created on a large scale for more production.
Mangroves and jackfruit trees in villages are disappearing in Balsapal area, said Dasarathi Nayak, a local resident. Nayak said they have to collect mangoes by investing a lot of labour, but do not get good price in return. Earlier, tribals used to dry surplus mangoes and make various products out of it.
They were making gruel from mango kernel. However, they lament that they would not have to resort to distress sale and the surplus stock would also not go to waste if the government had made provisions for proper marketing facility or cold storage facility.
Besides, the government should take note of the plight of the tribals and make provision of training on preparation of various products. Harekrushna Mohant, a farmer of Belapasi and another local named Bijay Prasad Chand, said there should be efforts to preserve the indigenous mango trees as they are gradually vanishing. PNN
