Karnataka   

They are aliens in their own lands

NAGARAHOLE FOREST AREA: The Forest Department has placed restrictions on the movement of tribal people and they do not have right over the forest.

“While the Forest Department has allowed private parties to develop estates in the midst of forests, we are not allowed to take up agriculture, even though we do not use machines or pesticides and do not fell trees. We cannot dig wells for water and cannot even bury the dead without permission from the Forest Department,” rues Ramesh.

“We are living here since hundreds of years. We worship the forest and animals as our gods. We are having our cultural roots here. But the Forest Department and wildlife activists are asking us to vacate our Jamma,” says Chandra of Balekovu.

He alleged that the Forest Department was not taking any action against the planters, who had encroached forest land. “As we do not have ‘patta’ (land record) they are forcing us to move out of the forest without providing any compensation. Forest officials are setting letting loose rogue elephants caught elsewhere on our habitats and harassing tribal people. Over 20 tribal people died over the years because of the atrocity of forest officials” he alleged.

Communities here face problems of lack of access to basic amenities such as health and education. In all for a population of over 23,000 in the forest areas, there are just four Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and these are at least 6 km from the nearest tribal settlement. Tribal people have to walk about two km to take a bus to the nearest PHC. A doctor working in local PHC says that there is hesitation among women to come to the hospital for delivery. But tribal women say that it is the apathy of doctors and lack of medicines that keeps them away. Access to schools is another problem.here. According to the teachers, though there are five residential (Ashram) schools with classes up to seventh standard and anganwadis, the attendance is poor. It is because of the disconnection in the curriculum with the world they come from, says J.T. Kalinga. Coordinators of Child Relief and You say that the substandard quality of care at institutions has long-lasting impact on the children.

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