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State support to broom-sellers sought

KORAPUT: Sitaram Harijan, a youth from Mernas village under Dahana panchayat in Nowrangpur district, is in search of his link with Laxmipur region of Koraput district . Sitaram’s family like the 140-odd families in the village make a living by selling brooms in the market. However the most interesting part of their means of livelihood is that the broom-twigs are not grown near their habitation, he added. But no one knew why their families dating back to several generations took the profession of collecting broom-twigs from the mountains of Pandakapadar, Bandigar, Lachmani, Sorishpadar, Nerka, Jamuguda, Bhaluguda and Marichmal, all from Laxmipur and Kashipur region covering distances ranging more than a hundred km.

Probably their families had migrated to their present habitation in Nowrangpur district from Laxmipur region in the past for some reason and had stayed there for ever by carrying out the profession they were used to while staying in Laxmipur region, he said. These families have got engaged in the trade with greater intensity than in the past despite serious difficulties in procuring the materials from far-off places, he added. While the male members of the family engaged themselves with the business of collecting broomsticks from the gatherers in the mountains and binding them into bundles before selling in the market, their womenfolk took the responsibility of the family by staying back in the villages, he said. However their search for establishing the link of their forefathers with the places of Laxmipur region might face a setback if the State Government does not come up with innovations in supporting the expansion of trade .

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