For Gond tribals, depositing cash a Herculean task

They are often detained for carrying their annual savings — Rs.5,000 to Rs.6,000 — to nearby banks.

November 30, 2016 12:41 am | Updated 12:45 am IST - KOLKATA:

Suneeta Pottam at a seminar.

Suneeta Pottam at a seminar.

Deep inside the forested areas of Bastar in south Chhattisgarh, the Gond tribals are confronting a “new problem” besides the usual ones. They are often detained for carrying their annual savings — Rs.5,000 to Rs.6,000 — to nearby banks, which is commonly as far as 50 km from their villages.

“We are suspected to have Maoists’ money, even if we are carrying it to deposit in the bank,” said Suneeta Pottam, a 19-year-old farm labourer from Korcholi village in partly naxal dominated district of Bijapur with 80 per cent tribals.

Ms. Pottam was in Kolkata to share her experience in an event organised by Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression [WSS], a countrywide network of women. While talking about the PIL she recently filed calling for a probe in a series of alleged fake encounters in Bastar, she gave an account of demonetisation’s impact on the tribals.

“The other day, a young boy Vijja Kurme of Pedda Korma village was detained near Gangalur while he was on his way to the bank at Bijapur. Vijje was interrogated and later he had to walk a long distance as his friend in a motorbike had left,” said Ms. Pottam.

“Firstly, Bijapur town is about 50 km from my village. Secondly to enter the bank one needs to stand in the queue for two to three days. It is not possible as we need to work in the field during [kharif] harvesting time,” said Ms. Pottam.

The earning of the tribals comes from plucking of chillies in adjacent districts of Telangana. A contractual farm worker – like Suneeta – works between February and March in Telengana and earns about Rs. 150 daily for 30-35 days.

Once the season is over, she is engaged in Mahua cultivation and Tendu leaf plucking and processing used as bidi leaf.

“We save some money, between February and May from the forest produce. Since we are harassed, many are refusing to go to bank and the non-tribal traders are benefiting,” said Tulshi Pottam, who is accompanying Suneeta. “The traders are taking Rs. 500 notes and giving daily consumables worth Rs. 400 ,” Ms. Suneeta told The Hindu.

A WSS activist from Odisha, Sharanya Nayak said: “I have seen bags are searched by police near SBI branches in Malkangiri.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.