Even jails have no place for eunuchs!

BY AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO

Bargarh, Nov. 11: Just imagine a situation: Some eunuchs are arrested on theft charges, produced in the court, their bail petition is rejected and the court sends them to jail.
The jail authorities - all on a sudden - find themselves in an awkward position – where shall they send these people – to male ward or female ward?
Such a peculiar situation has recently happened in Orissa’s Baragarh district.
On September 28 last, a district court remanded a eunuch Sudam Dharua (30) to judicial custody on charges of theft.
When Sudam landed in the jail premises, the jail authorities instantly got a headache as they had no idea where to accommodate Sudam since they did not have any special cell for eunuchs.
After much discussion and consultation, it was decided that Sudam would sit in the staff office during the day and at night he would sleep in a separate room guarded by trusted staff of the jail.
Speaking to reporters, Sudam said he was not feeling comfortable with the arrangement and pleaded that the state government should create a separate cell for eunuchs in the jails so that they do not have to go through such humiliation.
Not a single jail in Orissa has special cells for the eunuchs. So is the case with almost all the jails in the country, said a senior jail official here.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Bhubaneswar Special Jail superintendent Basant Kumar Ojha said, “The present jail manual does not provide special cell for the eunuchs. In absence of special cells for eunuchs, we just use our discretionary power and accommodate them in some special rooms.”
Mr Ojha, who has already served for 28 years in different capacities in state jail administration, however, said he had faced this kind of situation only once in his long career.
“I remember I encountered with such an awkward situation only once in my career. The eunuch who was booked under theft charges was accommodated in room meant for the staff,” he said.

Girl claims to have married a cobra

Girl claims to have got married to cobra

BY AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 8: It may appear like a fairytale of the good old days, but a girl in Orissa’s Malkangiri district on the borders of Andhra Pradesh and Chhatishgarh claims to have got married to snake.
She insists to live with the reptile although her life.
Apart from different parts of the state, a large number of people from Andhra and Chhatishgarh are thronging the girl’s village everyday to have a glimpse of her.
A section of Oriya newspapers reported on Saturday that a few days back Kusum (15) of Kaliaguda tribal village about 60 km from the district headquarters of Malkangiri, had gone to take bathe in the river Saveri nearby. While bathing she found a cobra getting wrapped around her.
In a bid to save herself, the panic-stricken Kusum shook the reptile off and fell unconscious after that. After she regained consciousness, the teen-aged girl told her father Bhagaban Nayak and family that she had to marry the cobra as God wished so.
Initially, her family members and villagers dismissed Kusum’s statement and even laughed at her. But to their surprise, they all started sighting the cobra often, the newspapers reported.
Firm on her stance, Kusum kept her demand on and insisted that her marriage to be solemnised with the cobra.
In an attempt to cure her daughter, Kusum's father first took her to a medical doctor and later to a witchdoctor.
The witchdoctor prescribed an expensive, rigorous rituals-laden puja which was performed with all seriousness but to no avail. Nor the medical treatment did yield any result. Despite all efforts, the 15-year-old girl refused to back of from her demand and even claimed that she had got married to the cobra in her dreams.
Finally her father Bhagaban appears to have reconciled with her daughter’s desire.
“May be it is the wish of the Almighty" he says.
As people came in large numbers to see the cobra and the girl, the reptile has disappeared but Kusum says that the cobra keeps on appearing to her in her dreams and meets her on the river banks.
The newspapers, quoting some old tribal men and priests, said there is a Cobra-God on the banks of the river Saveri and He saves people from drowning in the river.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have........

BY AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 14: With the advent of winter, the picturesque and hilly Rayagada town on the borders of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, has worn a beautiful look. Alluring greenery on the hills and the hordes buffaloes and sheep feasting

Sukru Himrika has no more any hope to live in a place where he was born 23 years ago. He has been almost starving for quite some days and now he has to feed himself and his family.
since forest officials have stopped them from entering forests and collect firewood.

With his Dhangidi (young wife), the frail and tribal youth is waiting at Rayagada railway station in Andhra-Orissa border to catch his train to Surat in Gujarat for some work.
Not sure of the nature of work there, he has just made up his mind to leave his Maa Mati (mother earth as the tribals call their beloved birth place).

“I don’t know whether I will fit into any job there or not. I know nothing except collecting firewood and some non-timber forest produces. But I have no other alternative than leaving home to feed my wife and old parents,” said Sukru in his broken Oriya, even as his other friends gathered there nodded in approval of Sukru’s statement.

“Satakatha babu. Aamar aau kichhi chara nahin. Aame kemiti banchibu se nei aamar chinta. (What Sukru is true. We do not have any alternative means of sustenance and we are worried over our future,” said Kalu Himrika, another tribal youth who along with his two children and aged father has come to the railway station to board his train to Surat, nearly 2000 km away from his home.

Sukru and Kalu are among the one crore tribals who mainly depend upon the forests for their survival. But, as they alleged, they were no more allowed by the forest officials to enter forests.

“The forest officials are harassing us for no reason. Whenever they see us in forests, they seize our axes and weapons that we use to cut branches of dead wood. They ask bribes and threaten us to send to jail if we do not comply to their demand,” Kalu said, adding, many of his fellow villagers have in the past been sent to jail for their inability to offer bribes.

The government statistics itself says that more than 10 million tribals in Orissa directly depend upon forests as a source of non timber forest produce (NTFP ) for a sustenance. The tribals collect numerous items including sal leaves, sal seed, tubers kendu leaves and various medicinal fruits and seeds like amla, harida, bahada, patalgaruda, chireita, honey and mohua.
The NTFP trade in Orissa is valued at over Rs.3,000 crores annually with the benefits directly flowing to the tribal population. Since land holdings are absent or negligible, this extra incomes are critical to their survival. Standing sal trees which would provide leaves and seeds for decades to the tribals shall disappear once forest working starts.