Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

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bamboo plantation was created under the FDA scheme during 2003-04. Similarly, under
RLTAP the area of such plantations was 1000 hectare and 855 hectare during 2003-04 and
2004-05 respectively(per comm.., Deputy Conservator of Forest, Social Forestry &
Afforestation)..
Such plantations have been planned even for areas having little or no bamboo
forests(natural), but technically there are certain limitations which the silviculturists have
to consider. Pure bamboo forests are usually open forests and they do not normally allow
other plant species to grow with them. Hence, unless the area is to be exclusively selected
for pure bamboo plantation, precautions should be taken so that bamboo does not take over
all other species in the mixed plantations. In mixed plantations, bamboo is to be maintained
as an undergrowth and this is possible if bamboo is planted in the 2 nd or 3 rd year of the
plantation (per comm.., DCF, Social Forestry & Afforestation).
Normally the species planted is salia. Either seedlings are used or propagules prepared
from rhizomes.
Significance in the livelihood of the poor:
While around 55 lakh people in the state reportedly depend partially on bamboo for their
livelihood(Mohanty D. 2004, op.cit.), some like bamboo cutters and artisans chiefly
depend on this resource in one way or another whose total number may be between 1 lakh
to 2 lakh, and in terms of family members, around 4 to 6 lakhs. Following is an account of
the significance of bamboo in the livelihood of these people:
1. Cutters:
‘The exact number of bamboo cutters have never been assessed, thanks to govt apathy’,
says Dandapani Mohanty, a leader of bamboo-cutters union. He however presents his own
assessment on the basis of the fact that there were 325 bamboo coupes in Orissa and in
each coupe worked 200 to 300 labourers which included mostly cutters, and hence taken
the average number to be 200 labourers per coupe, the total figure would be 65000(per
comm..). However, this estimation is unreliable since all the coupes are not worked
simultaneously; rather in the 4-year felling cycle about 25% of the coupes are worked in a
year. Further, Mohanty's figure also includes secondary labourers(like those engaged in
road work, etc.) though he says that many of the secondary labourers also worked as
cutters (because, infrastructure development like road work ideally precedes harvesting
operations).
Ramachandra Bakshipatra, another union leader, finds it safe to put the figure(of cutters) at
maximum 45000. According to him, about 26000 cutters are expected to work under JK
Paper as per the present distribution of forest divisions(including those allotted earlier to
Orient Paper Mills)
As evident from the following table, the statistics available (particularly in the newspapers)
in this regard appear to be controversial because the table shows the number of cutters
would exceed 1 lakh(atleast).
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