COIMBATORE: When five woodcutters from Tamil Nadu drowned in Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa district recently, the body count added to the mounting toll of tribals falling prey to the red sanders mafia. However, hidden beneath the veneer of cold numbers is a long story of neglect and pursuit of two square meals, which are seldom addressed or brought to fore.If numbers could tell the tale, data procured from the AP Forest Department would paint a grim picture. Since January 2015, a whopping 10,664 Tamil Nadu people were arrested for allegedly felling redwood trees. Between January 2015 and December 2017, 10,558 Tamil Nadu residents were arrested by AP police, forest department and Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF). This year, enforcement officials have nabbed 106 from Tamil Nadu, of which nearly 80 were nabbed in January. Neither the police nor the tribal welfare department has any data on the Tamil people arrested.
While the numbers indicate a surge in cross-border tree poaching and equally efficient preventive measures, what is missing is the reason that make the tribals and those in the hinterland to travel to AP. The migration and increasing affinity to poaching are indicative of the government’s failure to address the fundamental needs of the tribal populace. More often than not, it’s the tribals who finds itself in the vice-like grip of touts, scouting the hilly regions of Tiruvannamalai, Salem and Vellore for tree fellers. These three districts contribute to around 20 per cent of the people arrested in Andhra.
In the aftermath of the AP Red Sanders Anti Smuggling Task Force gunning down 20 Tamil Nadu people in Seshachalam forest for felling red sanders, Tamil Nadu police visited the scene of crime to conduct an inquiry. A top official, who was part of the probe team, found almost all the people deployed for cutting redwood trees came from Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. The jobless and gullible tribals were lured by touts. The pay was good and face-off with police only an occupational hazard, which was offset by the promised gains.
Why seek out woodcutters from Tamil Nadu? The fear of repercussion keeps Andhra woodcutters away. So, touts scout the hilly terrains to seek out the poverty-riddled tribals and bundle them to the forests for a paltry pay of Rs 500-Rs 1,000 a day. For those reeling under starvation, the money is godsend. Moreover, the tribals get paid, irrespective of whether they chop trees or not. Their meter starts rolling the moment they step out of their villages, the official said.
Seshachalam encounter happened nearly three years ago. Many proposals and schemes were mulled, primarily to plug the migration, the official said. However, tribals still go Andhra forest as proposals are not enough for survival. What troubles Kadapa Human Rights Forum convener K Jayasree is why Tamil political parties maintain a studied silence. “If Sri Lankan officials arrest a Tamil, a huge furore follows in Tamil Nadu. However, political parties remain tight-lipped when Andhra police nab Tamil people. Most of the people arrested belong to the unorganised Scheduled Caste," Jayasree says.
"This suggests that political parties and Tamil Nadu police are not concerned about their fate. No one raises their voice in support of the arrested tribals,” she asserts.While the Seshachalam killings hit headlines for a week, little was reported about those arrested on the fateful day. Andhra police deliberately booked them on charges of smuggling redwood and attempt to murder to detain for a longer term, Jayasree said, adding tha the solution lay in creating job opportunities and education.
State Tribal Welfare Director T Rittu Cyriac admits that ST community people are increasingly falling prey to redwood mafia. He assures that the Tribal Welfare Department has been proactive in receiving suggestions from stakeholders to devise a special scheme for tribals. “Earlier, we took steps to give employment opportunities by providing milch animals and training them in beekeeping. However, these are investment intensive, no matter how small the schemes are.They cannot afford them,” Rittu says.
Mounting arrests
Between Jan 2015 and July 2016: 1,072
Between July 2016- December 2017: 9,486
This year so far: 106
Identities verified, bodies handed over
Kadapa, Chennai: Bodies of five woodcutters from Tamil Nadu, who were found dead under suspicious circumstances in Vontimitta tank, were handed over to the families at RIMS in Kadapa. The families of the five victims came to Kadapa district with the help of Tamil Nadu officials. TN police and revenue officials submitted identity proofs of the victims. Activists of People’s Watch suspected role of police and forest staff in the deaths.
S Ravi, a representative of People’s Watch, alleged the postmortem was not done as per the established procedure and said families of the victims were tutored to give the same answer, which only made one doubt the police version. Meanwhile, the Madras High Court advised an advocate to move the high court with jurisdiction over Andhra with his plea for a re-postmortem on the bodies of five men, found dead in Vontimitta. A Division Bench of Justices C T Selvam and N Sathish Kumar gave the advice, while disposing a petition from advocate P Pugalenthi.