ROURKELA: Marianus Ekka and his wife of Patua village in Lathikata block wake up at the first stroke of dawn. They take baskets, bamboo plank and cooking pots, and set out for the day. No, they are not going for a picnic. They are going to the hills to pick Mahua flowers. The routine has been continuing since March and will go on till month-end, as it is the flowering season of Mahua - a flower used to prepare traditional liquor. Even the government earns huge revenue from spirit that is brewed from the flowers. To Marianus and other families like his, Mahua means money. Trees bear good flowers on alternate years. A mature tree produces on an average 200 kg of dry flowers.Some trees shed flowers in the morning and others later in the day. So the Mahua pickers have to stay near the trees from dawn to afternoon. Women pick the flowers while men fetch water, cook food and carry the flowers home. The picking regulates the lifestyle of the villagers. In some of the families children and elderly women do the cooking and cleaning before the pickers come back, while in others women manage the household chores along with the picking. The women have a long day, as after returning they have to fetch water and cook dinner. But the pickers receive pittance for their round-the-clock labour.Selling the flowers in the market during the flowering season fetches them the lowest price - merely ` 10 a kg. The traders, who buy and stock the flowers from them, make bumper profit by selling them after three to four months. Official sources said since 2000 the Government with an aim to benefit the Mahua flower pickers, has empowered respective panchayat samitis to fix minimum support price and prevent their exploitation. However, in practice this is not happening in 262 GPs of the district. It is learnt, the financial year for Mahua flower is October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012. Because of local body polls, the minimum support price in all 17 blocks of the district could not be announced. As a result, primary gatherers are facing distress sale as middlemen tell them that they would not get buyers. District Panchayat Officer Guruva Singh said the district administration had been requested to look into the situation.Officially, the district procures 10,000 to 15,000 quintals of Mahua flowers in a season, but actual collection goes beyond 35,000 quintals as majority of the transactions are done unofficially.Forest Department sources said the Van Surakshya Samitis of the Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project, each having a financial power of ` 1 lakh, are additionally asked to help the primary gatherers with good offers.
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