Silent Valley National Park - Tribes
There is no record of the valley ever having been
settled, but the Mudugar and Irula tribal people are indigenous to the area and do live in the adjacent valley
of Attappady Reserved Forest. Also, the Kurumbar people occupy the
highest range outside the park bordering on the Nilgiris.
Many of the Mudugar, Irula and Kurumbar now work
as day labourers and porters. Some work for the Forest Department in the park as forest
guards and visitor guides. 16 out of 21 tribal colonies in the Attappady range
are notorious for ganja cultivation. Many
Mudugar are in abject poverty and easily recruited by the so-called ganja
mafia, there is a plan to employ 50 additional men
from these 21 tribal settlements as forest guards for Rs.500 per man-month.