Tendu leaf collectors run the risk of falling prey to snake bites

Tendu leaf collection is gradually picking up in the forest areas spanning six divisions in the district with thousands of Adivasis scouring through the forests in the peak summer in pursuit of tendu leaves, the prime source of supplementary income for them in the lean season.

Over 25,000 tendu leaf collectors including members of the forest dwelling communities across the district are faced with bleak prospects of substantial earnings this season due to the delayed e-auctioning of the tendu (beedi) leaf units in the current year, sources said.A target of 47,800 standards bags of tendu leaves has been set for 39 units spread across Bhadrachalam, Manuguru, Palvancha, Kothagudem, Palvancha (wildlife) and Yellandu forest divisions in the district this year.The tendu leaf collectors run the risk of falling prey to snake bites and attacks by wild animals during the process of collecting tendu leaves in the core forest area.

An incident of a wild bear attacking a tendu leaf collector in the reserve forest area under the Palvancha wildlife division was reported last year, sources said.The strenuous activity also involves potential health hazards as the tendu leaf collectors get exposed to sweltering heat wave conditions while collecting the leaves in the wild and handing over the bundles of leaf at their designated units.

The government’s failure in conducting the e-auctioning process in time and ensuring timely pruning activity is bound to take a toll on the earnings of forest dwellers this year too, deplored Macha Venkateshwarlu, State secretary, Telangana Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham.For thousands of Adivasis and other forest dwellers, tendu leaf collection is the sole alternative source of livelihood during the lean months extending to the whole summer season.The inordinate delay in disbursement of bonus to the tendu leaf collectors is a clear pointer to the government’s apathy towards the tribal people inhabiting the forest fringe areas, he alleged.The government is yet to clear the bonus dues to tendu leaf collectors for the past two years, he said, alleging that the government is solely focussed on augmenting revenue through the sale of tendu leaf leaving the impoverished tendu leaf collectors to the mercy of the contractors.

Adequate focus should be laid on the safety of tendu leaf collectors to protect them from the imminent risks involved in collecting tendu leaf in the wild, contended Telangana Adivasi Samskhema Parishat president Punem Srinivas.The tendu leaf collectors should be supplied drinking water sachets and ORS packets to help them cope with heat exhaustion, he suggested.The bonus dues had been paid to the tendu leaf collectors in Palvancha division up to 2012, said Keshav Ram, Forest Divisional Officer, Palvancha.Arrangements are in place to disburse the remaining bonus dues for the subsequent years once the amount is released, Mr. Srinivas said.