Chhattisgarh: Naxal hotbed Abhujmaad set to become litchi cultivation hub
India

Chhattisgarh: Naxal hotbed Abhujmaad set to become litchi cultivation hub

Narayanpur, Jul 17 (PTI) The hilly terrain of Chhattisgarh’s Abhujmaad area, considered a Naxal stronghold, is expected to get a new identity as a litchi cultivation hub in the next few years. The local administration has launched an initiative to encourage tribals to take up litchi plantation in view of the suitable geo-climatic conditions in […]

   

Narayanpur, Jul 17 (PTI) The hilly terrain of Chhattisgarh’s Abhujmaad area, considered a Naxal stronghold, is expected to get a new identity as a litchi cultivation hub in the next few years.

The local administration has launched an initiative to encourage tribals to take up litchi plantation in view of the suitable geo-climatic conditions in the area, officials said.

Spread over nearly 4,000 square kilometres, Abujhmaad, which means an ‘unknown hill’, largely falls in Narayanpur district of the Bastar division and is located about 350 km from the state capital Raipur.

The horticulture department has planned to develop litchi plantation initially on around 200 acres of land covering 10 villages to improve the income of tribal farmers, the officials said.

“Although the department was offering litchi saplings to local tribals for the last few years, it was very limited due to various reasons. Now, we have decided to expand its plantation on a large scale,” Narayanpur’s horticulture department assistant director Mohan Sahu told PTI.

Tribals from Akabeda, Gudadi, Orchha, Kasturmeta, Paralbeda, Kodoli, Mardel and Chhotepalnar villages were approached for the purpose.

About 3,500 saplings have been planted in these villages so far since June 15 and the target is to take it to 10,000 in this season, Sahu said.

The geo-climatic conditions of Abhujmaad, covered by a dense forest and hilly terrain and located a height of 1,600-1,700 metres above the sea level, are similar to Muzaffarpur (in Bihar) which is the litchi production hub in the country, he said.

On an experimental basis, 100 saplings of litchi were planted in the horticulture department’s nursery at Orchha town in Narayanpur 1995 and later at other such facilities in the district and Basing area.

These plantations are yielding good production and fetching about Rs 2 lakh in one season, the official said.

The tribals agreed for the litchi cultivation after seeing its good results in nurseries, he said.

The horticulture department has been providing technical assistance, fencing of the area under cultivation and drip irrigation facility to tribals, he said.

The tribals in the region have been traditionally cultivating kodo, kutki and ragi millets on a small scale and are mainly dependent on forest produce for livelihood.

But with litchi cultivation, which is a high value cash crop, they can earn up to Rs 200 per kilogram of the produce, he said.

The litchi fruiting begins in the third year of plantation, but it reaches a level of commercial sale in the fifth year.

In one season, a single tree yields around 20 kg of litchi in the fifth year, but after the 10th year, it yields around one quintal, the official said.

At present, litchi is being cultivated in some areas of Jashpur and Surguja in north Chhattisgarh where the climatic conditions are favourable for it, he said.

The Naxal activities in Abhujmaad, which once posed a huge challenge, have declined in the last couple of years due to the increasing search operations by security forces and development works, including road network, carried out in the region, officials claimed.

As many as 237 villages in the Orchha block and nine villages of the Narayanpur block under Abhujmaad area were un-surveyed, as a result of which tribals living there were unable to get the benefits of government schemes, Narayanpur Collector Rituraj Raghuvanshi said.

As part of the masahati (revenue) survey being conducted in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in the area, land maps and records of around 67 villages (of 246) have been prepared.

The masahati pattas (land ownership deeds) have been provided to villagers, thereby helping them to avail benefit of government scheme, the collector said.

Tribals are being encouraged to undertake litchi cultivation to increase their income in the coming years and transform their lives, he said.

The Abhujmaad region, earlier considered a hideout of senior Naxal cadres and safe ground for running training camps for the guerrilla cadres, is witnessing a lot of positive change in the last couple of years, a senior police official said.

“In an effort to establish peace and order in the region and also to facilitate development works as desired by the native population, we have re-opened a few critical axis, like Narayanpur-Sonour-Kohkametta, Narayanpur-Akabeda, Narayanpur-Palli-Barsur, in the last few years,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.

These roads not only facilitate development works, but also provide the Abhujmaad residents an opportunity to connect to the outside world, which they were deprived of over the last so many decades, he said.

At least five security camps in the interior areas are acting as integrated development centres and facilitating basic amenities to the native population, he added. PTI TKP GK GK

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