The tribals got into illegal activity as they had no alternative livelihood options
In the last few years the Centre did not clear sale of red sanders, though there is huge demand in China and other overseas market, resulting in illegal export (Photo: DC)
Chennai: A study on Malayali tribes in Kalvarayan hills spread over Villupuram, Salem and Tiruvannamalai, who were used by red sanders smugglers to cut wood noiselessly in AP forests, has revealed that they were lured for the illegal tree felling with hefty pay packages, as they had no alternative livelihood options. Of the 20 woodcutters gunned down in Seshachalam hills near Tirupati on April 7, 12 belonged to this tribal community.
A three-member committee of advocate commissioners, including Dr V. Suresh of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, appointed by Madras high court to study the living conditions of the tribal people in Kalvarayan hills, submitted the report on April 16. The Malayali tribals can noiselessly cut, prune, size and carry logs over a distance of 25 km without a break. They function cohesively as teams of 5-6 persons and can fell a full-grown tree within hours. The red sanders smugglers had identified their skills and exploited it.
Quoting forest department officials, the panel said the only people who realised the unique skills of the tribals of Kalvarayan hills were the timber smuggling mafia of Andhra Pradesh who have been systematically luring them with advances and promising money which they cannot earn normally. Each woodcutter makes at least Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 in one assignment which spans over 7 to 10 days.
The smugglers chose the tribal labourers because their “stamina and strength was matched by their exceptional navigation skills or ‘directional’ ability to find a way through dense forests, even during night times”, says the report. The Malayali tribe is the silent link between underdevelopment and the red sanders mafia.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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