Sonbhadra: Tribal Groups Lose Livelihood, Govt Remains Apathetic

Duddhi (Sonbhadra): Several tribal groups are disappearing from Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra, the energy capital of India, which was once home to many different tribes. However, the government seems to have turned a blind eye to this, with no effective steps being taken to protect them.

Kanak Kumari Kharwar, in her late 40s, travels 25 kilometres everyday from her village in Duddhi development block to the district headquarters to sell datoon (neem sticks used to clean teeth) and tendu leaves which her grandchildren collect from the forest area.

“I am able to earn up to Rs 100 per day and from that money I buy ration, groceries and other things for the family. My son works in Punjab and visits us twice a year. My elder son died two years ago while working in a stone quarry. Then I asked my younger son to work somewhere else as working here involved a risk to life,” she said.

She further told NewsClick that she has not been able to avail the benefits of any of the government schemes, due to which she along with her grandchildren have to live in a thatched hut braving inclement weather.

“My daughter-in-law works in a stone quarry and also as a labourer because we have to feed three kids and ourselves. There is no other work in the district other than risking one’s life in mines or river bed when sand is taken out. The forests are also slowly disappearing due to which we hardly get any forest products like lac, honey or flowers which were of some value,” said Kanak, who belongs to the Kharwar tribe.

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The tribal people which are left in the district are now working as labourers, or migrate to other cities in search of employment and even work in the mines for remuneration which do not even match the market rates.

Several organisations, tribal conservation groups and even social activists have raised their voice a number of times, protesting against the problems but only to get a fake assurance from the authorities. “The problems of these tribal people are not being solved, due to which they are slowly disappearing from the district,” said Kamlesh Kumar Pandey, a Sonbhadra-based activist.

“Tribes in Sonbhadra never owned land and were practising farming on the land leased by the government. But, soon they started getting ousted from their land by the land sharks who acquire the land either for illegal mining or setting up some industrial plant,” he said, adding, “Tribes are a part of the heritage of any country and it is the duty of the government to conserve them. They reflect the diversity and rich culture of the country. But if nothing is being done to protect them, then in future, we should be prepared to write ‘Extinct’ for them.”

The Sonbhadra-based activist further claimed that tribes are migrating to other places in search of employment as the local administration and the government have failed to address their issues.

Expressing his dissatisfaction with the government, Surendra Agrahari, a Duddhi (Sonbhadra) based activist—who himself belongs to the Kharwar tribe—said that the tribes are a thing of past in this district. Now they have assimilated with the mainstream, the consequences of which are not good.

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“The biggest problem with the tribes here are that they have lost their farming land on which they were growing lac while the scarcity of water is another major issue. The tribes of Sonbhadra which were once seen as the healthiest tribes in the world are today suffering from many health problems and their kids are being born with deformities,” he added.
Describing the problems faced by the tribal people, he said, “The tribal groups dig a small pit in the land, which is locally called kuhaad, and collect the water from drains and springs in it. The water gets contaminated with iron, fluoride and other heavy metals which makes them sick and they die early. The tribal villages such has Jugel and others do not have mobile connectivity and to catch the network these people climb trees and many accidents have been reported where people have died after falling from the trees. If these problems are not solved then the future is really dark for us.”

He claimed, “Since these people are not trained or skilled in doing industrial work, every month the district receives at least 10 dead bodies of the tribal people who die in different accidents while
working in other cities. The government should at least work in this direction to stop the migration of tribes to other cities and put a full stop on the deaths due to it. Today, we have more tribal widows in our district who are struggling to earn two square meals for the family.”

Kanak said that she is not able to sell the datoon sticks and tendu leaves everyday. “Sometimes I even have to beg for money to return to my house in the village and have to sleep hungry. The kids are all we have. I, along with my daughter-in-law, are trying our best for their good education so that they do not end up like me or their father,” she added with a smile on her face.

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