The recent event involving the unlawful and capricious confiscation of traditional green vegetables and food products that have been a part of tribal diets for generations has been publicly denounced and cause for significant worry by the Arunachal Pradesh Women Welfare Society (APWWS). Officials carried out an unexpected raid at Gandhi Market, close to the BSNL Office in Itanagar, on April 8, 2025. Many indigenous foods that have long been consumed by the local tribal groups were seized during the operation.
Following social media reports, APWWS members went to Gandhi Market on April 9 to speak with the impacted women merchants and confirm the issue directly. The vendors say that approximately six officers showed up at the market between 1:00 and 1:30 pm on April 8 and confiscated a number of traditional foods, such as Honyor, dried king chilli packets, brooms, wild mushrooms, bamboo shoots, Tanam and Tase, and banana flowers (known locally as Papuk, Hoji, Joka, Marseng, and Poto).
According to reports, the officials informed the female vendors that they were not allowed to sell these goods without the required paperwork. According to reports, several officials told the sellers to offer only laipata because the other dishes were “harmful.” Indigenous food practices that have sustained local communities for millennia are being directly attacked by this edict, according to APWWS. The state government has been encouraged by APWWS to move quickly by opening a comprehensive investigation into the incident, providing compensation to the impacted businesses, and prosecuting officials responsible for any potential abuses of power.
