The precarious situation triggered by coronavirus threatens to disrupt the collection of mahua (ippa) flower and tendu (beedi) leaf in the Agency areas of the district during the prime harvesting season in the peak summer ahead.
The nationwide lockdown has resulted in the closure of all shandies (weekly markets) in Agency mandals and temporary suspension of production of forest-based products by the Telangana State Girijan Cooperative Corporation (TSGCC) in Bhadrachalam division.
Barring the fuel outlets run by the TSGCC one each in Mulakalapalli and Gundala mandals, all units of the corporation, including the soap and shampoo manufacturing units as well as chilli and turmeric processing units besides its retail outlets, have been shut on account of lockdown. Thousands of Adivasis inhabiting the forest fringes of the Bhadrachalam Agency and elsewhere in the tribal areas of the district depend on collection of minor forest produce (MFP), mainly mahua, for their sustenance.
The COVID-19 threat also cast a shadow on tendu leaf collection, the main source of supplementary income for a multitude of tribal people in Agency areas, slated to begin next month.
This has sparked concerns among various Adivasi organisations over the potential cascading effects of the coronavirus threat on the livelihood of thousands of Adivasis in the forest fringes.
Adivasi Sankshema Parishad (ASP) national president Dhatla Nageswara Rao said the current public health emergency situation called for implementation of a contingency plan in the Agency areas of the State to safeguard Adivasis and their traditional livelihoods.
The Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) should take vigorous preventive measures to ward off the deadly virus infection and initiate appropriate measures to help Adivasis cope with the current precarious situation, he said.
