Banjar (Kullu), May 19
It is a gift from the gods. Guchhi, a mushroom that grows at an altitude of 18,000 feet and above, is not very easy to find either. It requires sharp eyes and long hours and even then, poor families manage to collect a kilogram or two at best in the two months of March and April.

Only the poorest families, ironically, can afford to search for Guchhi because of the time involved. This year at the Banjar annual fair, the going rate was Rs 7,000 per kg, which means each family of Guchhi collectors could at best hope to earn between Rs 7,000 to 14,000.

With neither the forest department nor the government offering to buy the Guchhi, the trade is dictated by a few influential families, which sell the mushroom for as much as Rs 20,000 per kg in Mumbai and Delhi. Some of them actually export it at higher prices and profits.

While most other mushrooms can now be grown under controlled conditions, scientists are yet to crack the secret of the Guchhi, which grows in the wild. The more it rains and more the thunder, believe villagers, the yield tends to be higher. The total production last year, estimate forest department officials, was in the region of just 2,000 Kgs but this time the yield is expected to be higher and may well touch the 3,000 Kg mark.

In several countries the Guchhi is deemed to be an aphrodisiac and is, therefore, highly prized. Villagers accuse the government of indifference. If the forest department buys the Gucchi, they point out, the collectors could probably receive double the price while the department could still earn a profit. They also complain that they are barred from collecting Guchhi from the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) area. Nor has the government taken any initiative to train villagers to collect the Guchhi scientifically, complained Tara Chand, who has been engaged in collecting the priceless mushroom since he was a child.Wildlife Conservator and director of GHNP, Ajay Shrivastav, admitted that research on the wild mushroom remains inconclusive and the trade remains largely unorganised.

The traders are required to obtain permits from the forest corporation though. When contacted, R.K. Gupta, MD of the Forest Corporation, confided that the state government is in the process of setting up a trading centre at Shamshi; and rules are being framed to regulate the trade.