SAMBALPUR: Kendu leaf pluckers of Sambalpur on Tuesday staged protest in front of the district collectorate demanding bonus, hike in wages and abolition of GST on the minor forest produce.In the morning, the agitators under the banner of Odisha Kendu Patra Karmachari Sangha (OKKS), took out a rally from Laxmi Talkies chowk and marched to the office of the district collector where they sat on a dharna. They also handed over a memorandum, addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, to the district administration.
Members of OKKS said pluckers were given bonus from the profit that is made from kendu leaf trade in March every year. However this year, the pluckers have not been provided bonus and instead, the government has given them financial assistance. The agitators opposed the provision of financial assistance and said bonus is their right which should not be denied to them.
Similarly, the kendu leaf pluckers were earlier given Rs 25,000 as assistance during marriage of their daughters. However, the government discontinued it in 2019. The OKKS members urged the government to resume the welfare scheme for pluckers and increase the marriage assistance to Rs 50,000. Besides, the government should hike salary of seasonal workers.
OKKS secretary Sanjit Mohanty said the GST on kendu leaves has adversely affected the pluckers as well as the trade. “Imposition of 18 per cent GST on kendu leaves is against the Forest Rights Act-2006 and PESA-1996. Besides, around 92 per cent of the kendu leaf pluckers are tribals or from deprived sections of the society. It goes against the interests of the tribals. The government has also imposed a GST of 28 per cent on bidi which is made from kendu leaves,” he said. Land acquisition officer of Sambalpur Saroj Mishra received the memorandum from the agitating kendu leaf pluckers.
