Abject poverty continues to stalk KBK

The Pioneer, 15th April, 2008


Bursi Mandig, aged 21, looks like a woman as old as in her late 40s. Backbreaking poverty has robbed her of her youthful charm.In 2001, when reports of starvation deaths from various villages of Rayagada and Koraput districts rocked the Naveen Patnaik Government, Bursi was only 14 years old. Now a mother of two, she is also thriving on mango kernel gruel for at least three months in a year. The tribal woman of Jagipalur village of Narayanpatna block in Koraput supports a four-member family. Things have not changed for her despite infusion of huge funds in the KBK region. In a given financial year, each block in the region receives more than Rs 20 crore for developmental works.But Bursi is in penury and strives to earn out her living by selling woods. Her income is Rs 20 per day and, that too, if she is able to sell the woods. Whenever she goes for sundry jobs in the nearby villages, she receives Rs 30 per day, which the jobs are rarely available. Abject poverty stalks the villages, and it has to be seen to be believed. Take another sample. Hareka Anku, 30, of the village Chintaguda of Narayanpatna block also earns her livelihood as a wage-earner. Due to adverse climatic conditions, she has lost crops in her field and there is not much left to feed her family of five. Over and above, she is saddled with bank loans as she has failed to repay the agricultural loans. Hareka receives Rs 30 per day for wage, the payment of which is done on a weekly basis. Similar is the case of Sukanti Garda. She also goes for sundry jobs in the neighbouring villages. Hareka and Sukanti receive Rs 30 as daily wage, even though the State Government has enhanced the minimum wage per day to Rs 75.
In this tribal and hilly terrain, there is no supervision of minimum wages Act by the Government authorities. Secondly, the question is raised as to why these women are denied 100 days' jobs I a year which are supposed to be provided under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The people expressed their ignorance about the presence of any welfare programmes like the NREGS. However, officials in the district reject the people's allegations, saying the NREGS is being implemented in full scale in these blocks but some people show the least interest in doing hard earth cutting jobs. So, they prefer to cut woods from the jungles and prefer to thrive on their sale in the market.While allegations and counter allegations go on, poverty continues to weaken the entire tribal population in this worst backward and poverty-stricken zone of the State as before.