Few jobs, long queues, villagers fret

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 19

‘Out of sight, out of mind’ best sums up the plight of border area residents.

Once famous as the foundry hub of the state, Batala today is just another descript town plagued with the flight of industry, poor infrastructure and lack of job opportunities.

Business boomed as migrants set up industrial units in the city for almost half a century. Jobs were aplenty and sky was the limit for the intrepid entrepreneur.

It all came to a screeching halt in 1992 when the Freight Equalisation Policy (FEP) was abolished. Businesses floundered and steadily the job market shrank.

Officials claim that in the past 25 years, Batala, Gurdaspur, Dinanagar and Pathankot registered a negative growth rate.

The scrapping of the FEP, adopted in 1948 by the Centre, meant that products manufactured in Batala were expensive than those produced elsewhere.

Industrialists shifted base to Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh because of tax incentives. Some even shifted to South India. Today, 80 per cent of the city’s once-famed foundry units are closed.

“The cost of raw materials procured by Batala foundries now exceeds the price of the finished goods,” says machine tool businessman Iqbal Saimi.

Jawahar Marwaha, a pig iron trader, rues lack of jobs in the Gurdaspur-Dinanagar-Pathankot belt. “If Batala was famous for industrial units, the Gurdaspur-Dinanagar stretch was famous for its rice mills. Now, the two areas are struggling for survival. The youth are interested in settling abroad because of better employment avenues,” he says.

Former Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa made efforts to bring a rail coach factory to Kalanaur, but failed. Instead, then Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda got one for Sonepat. Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member Ashwani Kumar failed to put Batala back on the industrial map.

Four-time BJP MP late Vinod Khanna made feeble attempts to improve the job market. And they don’t expect much from the sitting MP, Sunil Jakhar.

Tarn Taran
Way out: Don olive green

With almost no industrial units, youth from many villages of this district are notorious for being drug peddlers and addicts.

As there are a few rice mills, the requirement for labour is seasonal. Boys work at construction sites. And some others, including girls, go to Ludhiana to work in hosiery units.

In such a scenario, a job in the armed forces is their ticket out of despondency; the youth make every effort to don the olive green. But lack of educational facilities is a stumbling block.

“The options are limited: fauj or back-breaking labour in grain markers and fields. Given a choice, most of us will prefer the Army,” says Sewak Singh, practising for a physical test at a stadium.

Retired school teacher Santokh Singh from Patti points out that over the years, the situation has worsened. “A few years ago, basmati prices were high and there was a boom in construction works. But at present, the scenario is depressing as agriculture is a seasonal occupation and the youth shies away from hard labour,” he says.

Amritsar
Sans industry, youth forlorn

Lack of industries has forced most of the residents of border villages near Amritsar to perform menial jobs or work in nearby towns.

Pushpal Singh (35), a resident of Attari, starts his day at 3.30 am. He, along with others, starts queuing up outside the Integrated Check Post (ICP) for a day’s job. Many like him could be seen standing in a long queue to load and unload commodities for cross-border trade with Pakistan.

“There are no opportunities for us. We make ends meet by finding work every day,” says Pushpal, who works as a driver.

Minto, a graduate, chose to take up a job at the ICP as he felt there were fewer opportunities for him in the city.

Daily-wager Hari Singh of Gharinda village doesn’t want his children to follow in his footsteps. So, he has admitted them to a private school, hoping for a better future for them.

Ashwini Awasthy, who teaches at a government school in Rayya, suggests a way out: massive industrialisation.

Ferozepur
Economic stimulus that never came

Major Singh (26) runs a barber shop in Kamalewala village of the district. He had to discontinue studies after Class XII due to financial constraints. “I wanted to join the Army, but ended up being a barber,” he says.

His is not an isolated case as unemployment is a common feature in the district.

Jagir Singh of Tendiwala village is confused on what to do as no one is there to counsel him. “I am biding my time doing household chores as I cannot afford the fee of a private college.”

Mangal Singh, the sarpanch of Chandiwala village, has a different take on the situation, bordering on insensitivity. “Our (farmers’) mainstay is farming, but there is no hope for the landless. They are forced to work as farm hands or daily-wagers,” he says.

Two years ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Hussainiwala, the youths hoped that an economic stimulus was in the offing. “Nothing happened. We were left to fend for ourselves,” says Balbir Singh, an unemployed youth.

Major Amarjit Singh, incharge of the C-Pyte centre at Hakumat Singh Wala village, says most of the border youths are physically fit to join the armed forces, but lack of communication proves a hindrance.

KS Dhaliwal, secretary, Border Kisan Union, says even well-educated youth have to opt for labour or petty jobs.

“The government’s promise of ghar ghar naukari has proved hollow as companies are offering a pittance,” says Bikkar Singh of Gatti Rajoke village.

Fazilka
Cotton provides a breather

Bumper cotton crop brings relief to farm workers in border villages of this district as they get Rs500 for each quintal of cotton picked by them.

Labour seems to be the only option for villagers. Take the case of Roopnagar village. Of the 900 adults in Roopnagar, 500 are daily-wagers. To make a living, they go to Kheowali Dhab or Fazilka grain market.

Panchayat member Aad Ram Sharma says only 10 youths got a government job — four in Central security services and six in the state Education Department. “Poverty and illiteracy are the main problems here,” he says.

Ramsukhpura sarpanch Krishan Lal feels that crop diversification was yet to benefit border area residents. “We cultivated maize, but sold it for Rs1,000 per quintal as the state agencies did not enter the market,” he adds.

In Bareka village, labourers are paid only Rs200 per day by farmers.

Jandwala Meerasangla village resident Satpal Soni says some fruit grading and waxing plants had been set up by individuals, but most of the labourers are migrants. Locals are the worst sufferers, he adds.

Inputs by Ravi Dhaliwal, Manmeet Singh, Divya Sharma, Anirudh Gupta and Raj Sadosh