THE oft repeated story of exploitation has raised its ugly head again, this time in Orissa's Kalahandi district. Women of the mainly tribal population in the panchayats of Thuamul Rampur, Kaniguma and Nakrundi, who collect phoo1jitadu (broomsticks) - a minor forest produce - from the jungle, are forced to sell them for as little as Rs 3.90 a kg to the Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation Limited (TDCCO). The TDCCO then makes brooms out of these and sells them at the rate of Rs 18 for 3 pieces made from 1 kg of broornsticks.

The lament of the tribal women who risk their lives every time they step into the jungle is that they are prevented from making the brooms themselves and profiting from their sales. In spite of an. order procured on March 13 to enable them to not only collect but also sell the forest produce, the actual state of affairs remains the same. When Kalahandi's District Rural Development Agency encouraged the women to make and sell the brooms recently, TDCCO Officials harassed them and seized the brooms, complains Dilip Das, head of Antyodaya, a philanthropic organisation working in the area.