With the onset of the rains, the collection of yarsa gumba (Cordyceps Sinesis) by villagers also comes to a halt. However, with the villagers returning to their hamlets with their harvest of the herb also known as Himalayan Viagra, the smugglers are now becoming active to secure the herb from the villagers for the international black market.
The smugglers buy the herb from villagers and then smuggle it to Nepal, making a handsome profit on the deal. Though the State loses considerable revenue due to this smuggling apart from sustaining damage to the environment due to unregulated harvesting, the authorities concerned have so far failed to take effective measures to prevent such anomalies.
It is pertinent to mention here that villagers living in the high mountainous regions here leave their villages to harvest yarsa gumba from the month of May. The villagers harvest the herb from high altitude Himalayan regions till the advent of the monsoon season. After camping and harvesting the herb for about two months, the villagers begin returning to their hamlets.
Their return to the villages also activates the smugglers dealing in the herb. Compared to locals who sell the herb legally to the authorities, a larger number of villagers opt to sell it to the smugglers.
The Forest Department states that it purchases the herb from villagers through the village sarpanch at the rate decided after fixing 10 per cent royalty. locals point out that this costly herb is being harvested from the Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand for many years now but the procurement of the herb by the State authorities from the villagers so far has been negligible. Most of the herb is smuggled to Nepal from where it is transported to China.
When asked about the rates offered to villagers, the Nanda Devi national park sub divisional officer Sarvesh Kumar Dubey said that the herb is bought from villagers after giving them 10 per cent royalty.
The villagers are then paid according to the rate prevalent in the market, he said. However, the SDO had no information when asked about the quantity of yarsa gumba procured from the villagers so far this year.
Observers point out that while the State Government continues to tout its plans for developing Uttarakhand into a major herb cultivation State, successive State Governments have failed to regulate the harvesting and sale of this costly herb.