Postal department cloud over kendu plucking

DHENKANAL: The fate of thousands of kendu leaf pluckers here hangs in the balance as the postal department is yet to ready their savings accounts for wage transfer next month when plucking commences.
As many as 10,000 tribal women are engaged in kendu plucking in Kamakshyanagar subdivision, 30 to 50 km from Dhenkanal. Plucking will start from the first week of April and continue till the second week of May.
Unlike previous years, pluckers can draw their wages from a post office savings accounts this season. The money will be transferred directly from kendu leaf division to pluckers' accounts in their respective branch and subpost offices. The decision was taken by Kendu Leaves Advisory Committee headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik in December, 2010. Earlier, pluckers would get paid in cash.
But given the dismal service of post offices, they keep shifting responsibility from branch to subpost office and district post offices. Tribal women complain that most of the time they are turned away because post offices have run out of stocks of account forms and passbooks.
There are 43 branch post offices in the three blocks of Kamakshyanagar subdivision (Kamakshyanagar, Kankadahada and Parjang). Pluckers of Kamakshyanagar sub-division come under Keonjhar kendu leaf forest division.
Rukmuni Singh (45) of Dangapal village under Kamakshyanagar range said, "I had gone to nearby Kankadahada branch post office, but officials asked me to go to the sub-post office at Karagola village, 8 km from my village. No transport facility is available to go there. Though our munsi (official staff of Kendu leaf section) went there, postal officials kept on saying account forms would come next month. As a daily wage labourer I have failed to earn for three days, moving from one post office to another."
Sulochana Singh (36) said, "I have been plucking kendu leaves for 15 years. My mother-in-law is also engaged in this business. I earn about Rs 3,500 in 45 days. I had even gone to the subpost office twice last month but they said their office has no savings accounts opening forms and passbooks. I returned disappointed."
Bharati Mahant of Urbengi village under Balikuma panchayat of Kankadahada block pleaded that the block sub-post office at Karagola village is just 9 km from her village. "Officials of branch and sub- post office are reluctant to open our saving accounts citing they don't have stocks of forms. If I am unable to open an account, I will not go to collect kendu leaves this season," she said.
Kamakshyanagar forest ranger (KL) Ajay Mohanty admitted pluckers are facing problems regarding opening of accounts in nearby post-offices. "According to instructions, we sent letters to post-offices in January. But they are handicapped as they have run out of forms," he said.
Tribal leaders blame higher authorities for not coordinating with postal officials in rural branches. "Their monitoring mechanism has failed to address the interests of poor pluckers," said one.
Sanjay Kr Mohapatra, superintendent of Dhenkanal district postal circle office, said his administrative office is not aware of the problem. Neither has he received any complaint nor have branch officials informed him. "We will redress grievances of people and monitor postal activities in rural areas," he said.