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Foxtail leaves tribals high and dry
Highlights
There is a Telugu saying that stamping on a fox’s tail would bestow luck. However, a grass weed that goes by the name Foxtail is causing lot of problems to the tribals of the region. Foxtail - a rare weed is causing food security issues for Konda Reddy tribal group - a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Bodagandi panchayat of Y Ramavaram mandal in East Godavari district.
There is a Telugu saying that stamping on a fox’s tail would bestow luck. However, a grass weed that goes by the name Foxtail is causing lot of problems to the tribals of the region. Foxtail - a rare weed is causing food security issues for Konda Reddy tribal group - a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Bodagandi panchayat of Y Ramavaram mandal in East Godavari district.This weed is spreading rapidly in agricultural fields for the last two years, decreasing the quality of the soil. While grass weed in general consumed by cattle, the foxtail however isn’t consumed. Much to the chagrin of the tribal farmers, this grass weed grows rapidly even after removing it. The grass weed often results in forest fire, which destroys the vegetations. It is also very sharp, and more often than not farmers are injured.
E Gowri Shankar, a social activist said that the grass weed affected the livelihood of tribals, who are spread over nine villages. “Centre for Sustained Agriculture (CSA), an NGO has taken up the daunting task of eliminating the fox tail grass. Though they were successful initially, the reappearance of the weed is causing panic among villagers,” he said. Agriculture scientist and Executive Director of CSA, Dr G.V Ramanjuneyulu ruled out the possibility of using chemicals to wipe out these weeds as chemicals might cause health issues. “The weed should be eliminated by setting fire collectively. The activity will be taken up from end of March 2016 as grass would be dry,” he informed.
Despite repeated appeals and petitions to the district officials, the woes of the tribals are falling to deaf ears. Executive council member of Rythu Swarajya Vedika, P S Ajay Kumar said that the tribals would be badly affected if the weed isn’t eliminated. He observed that the officials were turning blind eye as this region is very remote. He demanded immediate action to eliminate the weed.
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