As the task force set up to stop illegal red sanders felling in the Seshachalam forests goes about rounding up smugglers, the tribal community of Yanadis have been unwitting losers in the bargain. While there have for long been restrictions on the tribe’s entry into the protected forest, the stricter curbs imposed since the fight intensified two months ago have affected the livelihood of the tribe.
What is ironic is that the entry of woodcutters into the Seshachalam forest increased only after native tribes were barred from it.
The Yanadis, native to the eastern mandals of Chittoor district, rely extensively on non-timber forest produce (NTFP). Some 15,000 Yanadi families in 22 mandals of Chittoor district eke out a living by gathering honey, grass, tamarind, gooseberries, wild palm leaves (eethaaku), and an assortment of other forest products, known locally as karakkaya, palagadda, buraga banka, maredugadda, kanuga ginjalu, nerramamidi chekka, etc. and selling them in the nearby towns.A visit to the forest fringe village of Kukkalagunta in Yerpedu mandal showed how the state of affairs has turned pathetic for the Yanadis. They are dismayed that what was once their home is now barred to them and that their ‘sense of belonging’ to the forest is now lost. Even the possession of identity cards provided to them by the Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) does not serve the purpose as forest officials demand a ‘permission letter’ from none other than the Forest Minister.
This is often a pretext to deny them entry.
“From Vadamalapeta to Thottambedu, tens of thousands of Girijans depend on the forest for a living,” says K.V. Ramana of Pragathi, a voluntary organisation working for the Yanadis’ rights. When the community loses its livelihood, it shows up in the form of losses incurred by GCC, he added. The president of the Andhra Pradesh Yanadi Sangham, Mr Chandamamala Kotaiah, questions the ban, asserting that no Yanadi has ever been accused of felling red sanders trees or assisting woodcutters. Tales of woe come pouring of the Yanadis in Kukkalagunta village.
A frightened Nelluru Suraiah narrates how he and his wife were thrashed by officials and shows the injury marks on his limbs. Desamma laments that a memorandum submitted to the Chittoor Collector bore no fruit.
The stories are the same in Sivagiri Colony and Payal Centre where Yanadis cower from the officials. Kandada MPTC member K. Nagalakshmi, who hails from the Yanadi community, says officials use abusive language against women to keep them away from the woods and torture any males who brave the curbs.
