Sambalpur: Guarding the forest for karadi..but Spread in the city, 5,000 tons of trade from the district in 2 months
Sambalpur: The forest department has formed a special team to guard the forest. Action is being taken against those collecting Hendua and karadi (bamboo shoots). Now, the Karadi and Hendua made from bamboo shoots have become spread in the streets of the city. Karadi and Hendua made from bamboo shoots are a famous and delicious dish of Western Odisha. No matter how advanced the civilization is, the demand of Kardi and Hendua is unbreakable. Even outside Western Odisha, its demand is increasing among the migrants living outside the country and abroad.
On the contrary, due to the illegal sale of this kardi and hendua, the bamboo forest is getting destroyed. For this reason, while the forest department is talking about guarding the forest, its spread can be seen all over the city of Sambalpur. Even after a couple of days, Hendua, which is sold in the form of bunches, is ready to come to the market. For this, Hendua drying has been started in the villages. According to private estimates, more than 5,000 tons of karadi have been traded in Sambalpur district in these two months alone.
The demand for karadi and hendua made from bamboo shoots has been there since ancient times. In western Odisha, whether it is small fish chutchuta or pumpkin, or saru shag, the taste is enhanced by adding karadi or hendua to every dish. For this reason, mainly from June/July, raw karadi and hendua come to the market for sale in large quantities. It is sold till the month of November/December. Dried Karadi are sold throughout the year.
Earlier, it was only found in the homes of people. Now it has found a place on Luxury Hotel’s menu. That is why it is sold in various shopping malls with attractive packaging. However, the forest department is putting up posters saying that its trade is illegal. It is sold in shopping malls but in attractive packaging. As soon as the bamboo is harvested, the people of the area near the forest are engaged in the preparation of karadi and hendua. However, due to this, the forest is being destroyed day by day while new bamboo cannot be created. While the bamboo bush plays an important role in soil conservation, especially in forests, its destruction also leads to soil degradation. Billions of rupees are being spent by the government for the conservation of bamboo. But in reality, it is only limited to papers.
In particular, Karadi is collected in large quantities from the Badarama sanctuary area of the Kuchinda sub-district, including Hitsara, Khalabhi, and other forests of Naktideul in the Redhakhol sub-district of the Sambalpur district. Bamboo shoots are being collected illegally and after preparing karadi and hendua, it is being sold in quintals starting from different cities like Sambalpur to the rural markets. Now hundreds of Karadi and Hendua markets are seen on the main roads of Sambalpur city. The forest dwellers are collecting it and selling it at Rs 50 to 60 per kg. It is sold at Rs 160 per kg after coming to the city and it is alleged that people from all categories and forest department employees are also buying it. No one has an account of how many forests are being destroyed due to its sale.
