Traders short-change gullible tribals

Visakhapatnam: Even as the Legal and Metrology department is entering into its 60th anniversary, a large number of middlemen are still cheating the tribals by measuring their forest produce with banned age-old measurements. Kucham, seru, artha seru, thavva, gidda and lota, which were the standards used to measure various essential commodities till 1958 in the country, are still being used by some traders and cheating the innocent tribals in the agency areas of Andhra Pradesh.

Traders are moving into the interior parts of the agency areas and procuring forest produce by measuring with the banned age-old measurements and offering money calculating the commodities in metric system. In fact, one kuncham of commodity weighs 4.7 kg and one seru is equal to 1.4 kg. However, the middlemen are procuring with the old measurements and offering money in the metric system at several areas in the agency pockets, which means that tribals get less for their produce.

The metric system in weights and measures was adopted by Parliament in December 1956 with the standards of Weights and Measures Act and brought into the implementation in October 1958. However, new and old weighing systems continued till 1961. In April 1962, all other systems, including kuncham, seru, gidda and other measures were banned.

The tribals are still cultivating several essential commodities at very small piece of land in the agency pockets. The ITDAs at various agencies, including Sitampeta, Parvathipuram, Paderu, Rampachodavaram and other forest areas are conducting weekly fairs by arranging proper weighing machines and measurements to sell the forest produce.

The Girijan Cooperative Corporation is also procuring the forest produces from the tribals at every possible place. “The ITDA has taken several steps to control the middlemen entry to procure the forest produce from the tribals. We are also arranging electronic weighing machines at weekly fairs. However, in some interior parts middlemen are still procuring the produce directly from the tribals. It is a crime to use old measurements. We will start a special drive to educate the tribal and to curb the activities of the middlemen cheating tribals,” Project Officer, ITDA, Paderu Ravi Pattanshetti told The Hans India.

However, the middlemen are approaching tribals on a daily basis and collecting various forest produce with banned methods and other crops in bulk, without even measuring them. “The kuncham, seru and thavva and whatever other measurements for any purpose of weighing or measuring is banned. Whatever the product should be measured by the government adopted metric system only. We will direct the district-level authorities to monitor and take action, if such practices still using,” a senior official of Andhra Pradesh Legal Metrology said.

There are a large number of non-timber forest produce and minor forest produce is being collected from the agency areas spread in Twin Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. As the middlemen are offering on-the-spot cash and also coming to their doorsteps, the tribals are selling their produce to the middlemen. According to the inputs from the officials, still 40 per cent of tribals are not coming to the ITDAs run weekly fairs.