WHERE HUMANS DO NOT COUNT

Writes K. Sudhakar Patnaik from Koraput

The tribals in Jeypore Sub-Division of this Koraput District are still uncivilized lot. Living in 64 villages declared as reserved forest area under Boipariguda Block, mainly depending on "Podu Cultivation" and despite the claims of the Government of ameliorating their plight, these tribal are being exploited by Politicians, Officers and Businessmen alike in the sale and purchase of forest produce.

A recent visit to the tribal populated villages Machaguda, Maliguda, Gellaguda, Malaguda, and Kaliajad as showed that the tribal are leading a hand to mouth existence in the absence of basic facilities like education, drinking water, Medical and housing facilities. According to survey conducted by a group of journalist, their population, is about more than 5557 live in 64 villages, once before independence, these tribal were living in reserved forest depending on forest and cultivation.

Unfortunately, the illiteracy, innocence of these tribal contributed their lands for Machkunda Hydro Electric Project expecting to get light to their residential quarters. At the time of composite Madras State and prior to the formation of the Orissa State a comprehensive report was done by Sir, Henry Hewerd in 1931, with the formation of Orissa State in the year 1936 the Machkund river become the boundary for Madras and Orissa. Field surveys and investigations of the scheme were started in 1941. Subsequently after the formation of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa; both the states have agreed to share the power for the benefit of urbanites without sharing the problems of the tribals those who had contributed their land, forest and the villages where they used to live-in.

The first stage of the Electric Scheme with 3 units of 17 M.W. each was inaugurated on 19th August, 1955 by our first President of Republic of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad. About 10,000 Paraja, Godaba, Kondh tribals lost their lands, forest and numbers of tribal families were displaced. The State Government is having no records and does not even taken interest to find out the families displaced by the first Machkunda Hydro Power Project in the district and earliest one probability in India . Many families settled in Andhra Pradesh living on the top of the hills in Visakhapatnam agency area, who are neither the citizens of Andhra Pradesh nor of Orissa.

It is almost a separate story. One of the villages visited by this writer out of five villages (visited) –Gellaguda, has very interesting story, where in 84 families belonging to Gadaba tribe live-in. The villagers earlier before construction of Machkunda Power Project are the residents of Gellaguda for which again after displacement it was renamed Gellaguda to remember the birth place. Gellaguda is one of the villages like other 64 villages developed under Ramagiri Gram Panchayat, reserved as forest area immediately after their displacement by Machkunda Power Project. The tribals developed the villages found no difference in between their earlier birth places (Reserved Forest Area) and Ramagiri Reserved Forest area.

In a latter stage within past 15 years the "Timber Mafias" with the help of forest officials allegedly reduced 50% of the Reserved Forest Area into plain cultivable land (a Vigilance cases against forest officials and Timber Mafias are pending), but the entire Ramagiri area has been recorded as Reserved Forest area. The area once again concentrated/exploited by the Timber based multinational companies, and started planting Eucalyptus plantation with the help of forest officers as a result of which Paddy crops belonging to the tribals destroyed and reduced them like baggers.

Mr. Soniya Godaba is one of the five native doctors working in the village. He gets more number of Malaria cases and cure even chronic diseases and gets on an average Rs. 10/- per day. There is a school without school teacher and students. The Government offices also provided one below poverty line card to one Danu Gadaba and the other one to another Adu Godaba out of 84 families, who are under poverty line.

Ms. Padama Godaba is another native lady Doctor who is expert in curing female diseases and delivery cases besides she knows all type of "Tantrik Education" (Blind Belief). She can keep even the powerful devil to prevent the entry inside the village, she said, but she is blind, another 75 years lady Sama Gadaba is blind remembered and expressed the way her family was displaced, the third one Ms. Samara Godaba is more than 70 years but become deaf due to roaring sound of using the Blasting Materials at the time of Project Construction. She is still unmarried all the three ladies are counting their early days and last days too.

Ms. Padama Gadaba native doctor is blind another old lady Soma Godaba is blind, the Government also is blind, says a villager.

Another village Purnapani is also a remote village about 12 KM from Ramagiri Grama Panchayat headquarters. The villages can be reached only on foot through a narrow beaten track. A 20 years girl holding two children looks like a skeleton. It seems the Survival of the new Born kid is bit difficult. The mother is anomic and the kid is malnourished they too received no benefit from the Government.

When contacted the Revenue Officers who wants to be anonymous for fear of official wrath, had conformed the ignorance to provide basic amenities and said “the political leaders forced them to issue Photo Identity Cards in priority basis only for the purpose to win in the election with number of false promises”. But immediately after being elected they forget the promises given to them, quipped a local youth.

In fact, the undivided Koraput district is the second biggest district in India next to undivided Bastar district in Madhya Pradesh. It is having two Parliamentary Constituency reserved for tribal seats. One is Nowrangpur Constituency which represented more than 8 times by one Khagapati Pradhna from Congress, under whose constituency these village falls and the present Member of Parliament is Parsuram Majhi of BJP.

The second, Koraput Parliamentary Constituency represented by Mr. Giridhari Gomango elected more than seven times, under whose constituency the Machkunda Power Project falls. When this writer contacted more than Six times to him, he clearly said that I am representing the constituency only to protect the tribal culture and music. But have got no time to visit the villages to know the difficulties, he has gone even up to the extent of telling people, it is said, that the people vote for his shoes and why I should move to the area for the development.

All the 64 villages are symbol of utter official neglect. The villagers live a wretched life of hunger, disease and misery. Some leaders say there are Hundreds of Gellaguda in undivided Koraput district. Some villages whom this writer met on the way to Gellaguda say the political leaders, elected representatives and the District Administrative Officers visited us, promised us to provide facilities and left, but our misery continues.

The plight of tribals living in all the four districts of undivided Koraput district is one and the same. Fate has never ceased to be ironical for the helpless inhabited. They were in the reserved forest accustomed with dark before independence; they are living in dark now. And they will be kept in darkness for ever by the political leaders and Government officials for their benefit with the cost of whom they are living in Air-Conditioned rooms without power interruption.

It is what the development of undivided Koraput, Bolangir and Kalahandi, the so called KBK districts where infamous for starvation deaths, sale of children- very much prevalent keeping them in darkness after 60 years of independence.

This writer is a Koraput based independent journalist and has covered extensively this part of globe during the last three decades. He can be reached at ksp_pat@yahoo.com

The views expressed here are purely of the writer not that of the web publishing house.