Local labourers demand double wages: Farmers

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 25

Farmers are suffering because of the dearth of labourers as scores of migrants have already gone back and there are several who are wanting to come back from Bihar and UP, and are still finding ways to reach Punjab. Now, the farmers are left with no option, and are approaching local labour to help them during paddy season. But the farmers say this time the local labour is demanding double the normal rate.

Gurtej Singh from Mehatpur said the local labourers were demanding between Rs 5000- 6000 for the work, while earlier the rate was Rs 2,500-3,000.

“We knew that we would have to face several problems, but this is something that was never expected. The rates this time are quite high, because they know that we don’t have any other option but to ask them for help,” he said.

Jaswant Singh, a farmer from Jalandhar, said he had been getting calls from his labourers who were in Bihar as they wanted to come back, but he said that in the absence of his migrant labourers, he was asking the local labour but the rates were high. Sarabjit Singh, a marginal farmer of Shahkot block, said they would take the decision on sowing paddy after waiting for some more days.