Other States - Orissa   

Vanishing bamboo forests affect life of Duruas

This Durua girl has put a comb prepared from bamboo in her hair.

KORAPUT: The best thing a young boy from Durua tribe could gift his beloved is a comb carved out of ultra thin bamboo sticks, which are knitted together with fine strings of Salap tree. Chetai Durua, a young girl from Malipadar village under Haldikund panchayat of Boipariguda block in Koraput district, is proud of having one from her love.

But many other girls in the future might not be that lucky to receive such gifts because of the vanishing bamboo forests including the number of Salap trees in the reserve forest area near Gupteswar region. It’s not only for the ornament alone that bamboo has been placed at the first place in the preference list of Durua tribe but the inhabitants of the regional are also highly depend on the tall grass for making mats for the doors of their huts, Jamuna Durua, a Durua woman from Talur in the Haldikund panchayat said.

Jamuna is the one of a few tribal artisans who were recognised in the State for expressing their artistic creativity while preparing items using bamboo.

The items received good marketing opportunities from the local weekly market at Boipariguda to the Tribal festivals in the State capital.

But she and other artisans were facing serious problems of managing their trade for the shortage of the raw material in the nearby forest areas.

While the forest is thinning out everyday, the Forest Department has been planting several other plants in the region under different schemes giving the least priority to the plantation of bamboo , she added .

Now that they have to depend on the forests of neighbouring State of Chattisgarh for getting the bamboo for their work.

They have been facing difficulties in the hands of the forest officials of that State. Adding to the difficulties to cross the river, the hide and seek game with the forest officials makes it the most difficult challenge to transport the much required bamboo to this side of their habitat, she added..

Durua community living in this part of the reserve forest having no other means of livelihood options is forced to migrate if measures were not taken to regenerate the bamboo forest, Sadhu Durua, a tribal headman in Malipadar said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Bar association calls Berhampur bandh tomorrow
CPI (M) leaders protest against price rise
Extra coaches to clear rush
Petition filed against constructions near zoo
Blind belief leads to torture
Heatwave continues
Minister calls for more focus on agriculture sector
Atrocities on dalits: probe to be expedited
Bus, truck seized
RGB plans recovery drive
ECoR GM makes surprise visit
Drama fete from tomorrow
Vanishing bamboo forests affect life of Duruas

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu