POVERTY WRIT LARGE IN N’PADA PAHARIA HAMLETS

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Saturday, 20 August 2016 | AJIT PANDA | NUAPADA | in Bhubaneswar


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The Government’s failure to address the problems of Paharia-Kamar people, one of the most deprived tribes of Odisha, has resulted in worsening of their socio-economic condition.
Most affected are those who live in the remote villages like Khadang and Datunam of Sunabeda Panchayat of Nuapada district, which is one of the Maoist-hit areas of the State.
Khadang with a population of 115 is one of the 11 tiny settlements of Paharias in Sunabeda Panchayat. Most of these are non revenue forest settlements far away from their main revenue villages. Khadang is located at a distance of 12 km from the main village and 54 km from the block headquarters, Komna. Bamboo basket weaving, which is the only source of living for the Paharias, has been severely affected in past few years due to non-availability of bamboo. A family could hardly weave two winnowing fans in a week that fetch only Rs200.
“It is very difficult to arrange two square meals a day with this meagre amount, thus the elders usually skip a meal or two every week to feed the children” said the villagers of Khadang. “To add to our woes, we have not been provided PDS rice for last two months,” they lamented.  Three of the households of this hamlet have temporarily shifted to Sunabeda to earn their livelihood by herding cattle owned by farm households.
Komna block ABDO Debasish Sinha said that PDS rice supply was interrupted due to bad condition of the ghat road. However, the people of Sunabeda do not agree with this reasoning. “When tractors loaded with sand and stone can run in this road, why not with rice,” they asked.
Whatever may be the reason, non-availability of rice has severely affected the health condition of the poor Paharias.
“One of my children died last week due to weak health; it was not possible for me to provide sufficient food to my 10-year-old son when he was ill,” said Sambaru.
There are about 250 Paharia households in Sunabeda and Soseng Gram Panchayats and for all of them hunger is the reality. Appearances of 20 odd below 5 years of age children of the village speak a lot about their poverty.  All of them are malnourished, none has proper clothing.
“When we go to the Anganwadi centre once in a month, the worker gives us a packet of powder (food mix) and one egg each,” said Ratni. The Anganwadi centre is located at Sunabeda village. “We are living like animals. We starve when rice is not available under PDS. We cannot buy rice at Rs30 per kg from private shops,” said the villagers. To add to owes, the district administration has excluded about 40 Paharia households of the plateau from the NFSA.
“Paharia-Kamar community has been listed as tribe in serial number 18th in Chhatishgarh ST list, but in Odisha we are not. Our population is decreasing due to high mortality rate. We have all the features of a primitive tribe and the Government should recognize this to save us from being extinct,” said Sukalsai Paharia, the only college educated Paharia of Odisha.

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