NAHARANI (DERGAON), Aug 29 - Sanchi or agarwood or agaru ( Aquilaria malaccensis) is a common variety of tree available in upper Assam. From time immemorial, there existed a trade in agarwood and a large section of people managed their livelihood from this tree.
According to reports, the agarwood business was formally started way back in 1949 in Naharani and then it spread to Namti, Titabar etc. To run the business in an organised manner, a cooperative society named �Naharani Agarwood and Aatar Society Ltd� (Reg. no. GLT40/73) was formed. But the AssamGovernment banned the business in 1978 according to the Indian Forest Act 1927.
Subsequently, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listed the Sanchi tree in its red list, and since then, the entire business became illegal at the international level. Though the business was declared as illegal, the business continued. However, no revenue is received by the government. On the other hand, the plantation of Sanchi tree for commercial purposes began in the State in the 1980s. According to sources, one Kartik Saikia first planted a Sanchi tree at his tea garden as a �shade tree� at Dakhin Hengera in Golaghat district. And thereafter, large-scale plantation of Sanchi trees began by the unemployed youths. According to the State Government�s assessment made in 2003-04, about 1,00,00,000 Sanchi trees are there in the gardens of about 30,000 farmers in Golaghat, Jorhat and Sivasagar districts.
An official source revealed that about 900 extraction/distillation centres are continuing in these three districts. But due to a ban imposed on the business, the mediator gets away with the actual profit. Since the agarwood business is controlled by the traders at Hojai, actual farmers here in the districts like Golaghat, Jorhat and Sivasagar are totally dependent on the mediators. Therefore, the agarwood farmers are demanding that Sanchi trees be declared as agriculture crops so that they can grow them freely and sell them at market prices.
When contacted the noted botanist, popularly known as the �Mobile Encyclopaedia of North East�, Dr Padmeswar Gogoi told this correspondent that the Sanchi tree (Aquilaria malaccensis) is no longer a wild plant as no such tree is found in the forests, jungles and even in the reserve forests. At present, this species is available in agricultural farms only and, that is why, the State government should take the initiative to declare the species as an agricultural crop.
Talking to this correspondent, Abul Hussain, a progressive agarwood businessman of Naharani stated that the agarwood business is continuing since the days of his grandfather and at present he is also busy with the same. He also revealed that the representatives of �Naharani Agarwood and Aatar Society Ltd� called on the State Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at Kaziranga and submitted a memorandum demanding the declaration of Sanchi tree as an agricultural crop.
It is worth mentioning that a public meeting was held at Naharani recently where the resolution demanding declaration of Sanchi as an agricultural crop was adopted. On being contacted, the secretary of the All Sanchi Growers Association of Assam (ASGAA), Bikash Bora revealed that they are pressing both the State as well as the Central governments to declare a policy on agarwood business.