Brajamohan Tudu of Jhitka village can still feed his cows. But for his own lunch, he has to wait till his son returns from Lalgarh town with rice that the government is giving as relief. Land reforms by the Left Front government ensured that Tudu, like most tribals in Lalgarh, has some land.
But that gives him enough paddy to feed his family for six months. For the other six, he needs work. But with Maoists activities and the PCPA agitations, daily life was disrupted, he got almost no work and, therefore, no cash for his daily needs.
"Getting food is a problem. I don't have oil or salt. I used to gather leaves and wood from the forest and sell them. But there is no transport so the buyers are not coming. What will we do?" he asks.
Dangi Mahato's story is the same. She makes plates from leaves and used to sell a thousand for 80 rupees. But with Maoists running riot, buyers for her produce have stopped coming and her livelihood has vanished.
A resident of neighbouring Koima village who did not wish to be identified said Maoists not only put livelihoods at stake but also lives. "Earlier they would tell us to go to this meeting or that procession....If we said not, they would threaten to kill us," he says.
Many tribals who once thought the agitation by the PCPA and its Maoist allies would better their lives are now saying no more.
Says Brajamohan Tudu: "We are in trouble. Whichever party is doing this agitation, we are in trouble. We are not getting peace. If people suffer, then what is the use of these parties."
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