Bhubaneswar, March 19: Those who like to munch a `pan' (betel leaf) after their meals will have to dish out more for the traditional digestive this year. The betel leaf cultivation in Orissa, which is among the biggest suppliers in the country, was all but completely destroyed by the supercyclone that hit the state's coast on October 29 last year. Betel leaf cultivation in Orissa fetches approximately Rs 10 million for the farmers every year. The coastal regions are famous for supplying the `Banarasi Patta' (light yellow betel leaf made famous in Varanasi) and other varieties of leaves to the rest of the country.Officials estimate that betel vines over 1,800 hectares in the coastal region have been completely destroyed. "Although in some places people have started supplying `pan', the majority of the cultivators are yet to recover from the damage caused by the supercyclone," Harekrishna Das, joint director of the state horticulture department, said.
"This has resulted in the increase in pan's price in the market," said Rabi Naik, who runs a pan kiosk here. "Earlier we were taking 50 paise per pan but now the customer is paying 75 paise for the same," he said.
"The supercyclone damaged almost all the vines in coastal districts. Those who are financially sound have started producing it, but the majority of the farmers have yet not started its supply," said Arakshita Mohapatra, a farmer in Baliapal in Balasore district.
Mohapatra's three vines were completely destroyed by the supercyclone. "I do not have the money to start cultivation again," he said. The Baliapal area on the Orissa coast, where betel leaf is the most important cash crop, used to supply 75 per cent of the Banarasi leaf to the Indian market. Locally known as `Jaggi pan', named after lord Jagannath, it is sold as `Banarasi Patta' after it reaches Varanasi, where its colour is changed from green to yellow through a heating process, a betel leaf supplier said. Vines have also been damaged in other coastal areas in Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Cuttack districts, officials said.
Vines 12 to 15 years old are said to produce the best quality of leaf. It is this quality that ensured the prime position of Orissa's betel leaves in the market. "Since old vines are totally destroyed, we have failed to supply standard leaves," said Raghunath Naik, a cultivator in Puri district who lost all his vines.
It is said that betel cultivation was introduced in the Balasore district by a group of migrants from Bengal in the first half of the 20th century. In 1970, a rush for betel cultivation was triggered when people in Baliapal discovered its immense profitability and concentrated on its production and establishing their own networks of supply to Varanasi, Delhi and Mumbai.
-- (IANS)
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