Acloyingly strong smell hangs in the air as you drive down NH5 in Orissa's Ganjam district.That's kewda, locally known as kia , a shrub that grows wild in the 200-odd villages of Ganjam, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the crop. The flower extract is used to flavour condiments like Pan Parag and sweets and in making ittar (perfumes). It is also exported to West Asia. The roots are used to make ropes mainly sold in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Naturally, village economies here revolve around kewda. Some 40 per cent of kewda comes from the Chha-trapur block, around 20 per cent of which stands to be affected by the Tisco land acquisition. Kewda distillers located in the disputed area have roughly Rs 50 crore at stake.
The villagers collect the flowers, andthe distillers buy them at Rs 4.25 to Rs 8.50 per flower, depending on the output. Kewda farmers make a cool profit of almost Rs 40,000 a year per acre of plantation, according to a study by the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The cream, however, goes to the distillers. Crude distillation needs a one-time investment of less than Rs 2 lakh to set up four distillation vats, each yielding extract worth Rs 4-8 lakh a year. The profits are unaccounted for, most of the extract going to Uttar Pradesh to small-scale pan masala makers. Independent studies put trading by the 50-odd distillers in the area at over Rs 80 crore a year. A lucrative business which may come to a sudden end if Tisco's move to encourage displaced persons to set up distillery cooperatives succeeds. No wonder that the resistance movement in Ganjam is said to be funded and encouraged by the kewda distillers.