Eggs, chicken trade sustains livelihood

Egg and chicken selling had become an auxiliary occupation for more than 100 families in the village. One Angrej Singh said people earned a decent income from this work.

Those who had adopted the trade converted their two-wheelers into makeshift vehicles capable of carrying significant loads of eggs and poultry. Some operated in the local market across area villages from morning until late evening. Angrej Singh noted that their markets extended beyond nearby villages to Amritsar, and even to larger towns across Doaba and Malwa, with some contacts reaching the Chandigarh market.

Traders also targeted Jammu and Kashmir, arranging truck-like vehicles to supply eggs and chicken, building networks with local poultry farmers and sourcing eggs and poultry for sale in markets beyond the immediate area.

This livelihood proved doubly beneficial, as many families’ women also ran small-scale domestic poultry farming, providing extra income while remaining occupied throughout the day. Many households had also taken up dairy farming with buffaloes, cows, and goats as a side business, supplying milk to local and nearby towns. A number of residents went to nearby towns for daily-wage work to meet family expenses. Though once a sizable number of government employees existed, this inspired the weaker sections to improve living standards by adopting various auxiliary occupations. The village women were also noted for their hard work.

Avtar Singh, a former Sarpanch, said more than 400 women worked with Rana Sugar, Lauhuka, which had a sizable operation on the village’s outskirts. Fifty years ago Lauhuka was a poultry hub, but trends shifted and many poultry farms had since closed. The village’s location on the road and its clustering of area villages had transformed the roadside into a market, turning the area into a business hub where a variety of articles supplied livelihoods for villagers and nearby residents alike. Rana Sugar, Lauhuka, situated on the village’s outskirts, provided additional income for farmers by purchasing paddy residue, thereby benefiting not only the village but area farmers as well. It also supplied employment to labourers involved in managing paddy stubble.