Migrant workers fear loss of income if Punjab farmers shift to direct paddy sowing

Mahesh Sharma

Malerkotla, June 16

Paddy transplantation in Punjab has almost become reliant upon unskilled labourers migrating for short periods from UP and Bihar, whose relatively handsome income is reported to sustain the peasantry of their small and marginal farmer families.

However, these migrants are now scared of losing this income if farmers of the border state ever shifted to direct sowing, which is yet at incipient stage.

Observations by The Tribune revealed that most of the migrant labourers, visiting Punjab during paddy transplantation season of about one month, carry home savings worth Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000, which almost equals their annual income in their native state.

Again, majority of migrant labourers hailing from small and marginal farmers of UP and Bihar, major part of their seasonal income is used by their families to buttress cultivation of jute, paddy and maize, besides coarse crops at their native villages.

Lambardar Anandi Sharma of Araria District in Bihar asserted that he, along with a group of 25 labourers, had been undertaking paddy transplantation in this part of Malwa for over a decade and numerous of his team members used to take advance for arranging inputs for small agriculture at their fields in routine.

“This time too, some members of my group have taken advance payments expecting that on average each member will be earning between Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000,” said Sharma apprehending that tilling at small fields of UP and Bihar would be affected adversely if there is hundred per cent shift from traditional paddy cultivation to direct sowing which is done by machines.

“Like any other Indian, we too are concerned about depleting groundwater level but at the same time, are also worried about our livelihood,” said Sharma claiming that his team had always been advising farmers on optimum level of irrigation for preparing fields for transplantation of paddy seedlings.

Varinder Kumar and Murli Mandal of Katpar village in Bihar claimed that team work on paddy transplantation in Punjab for around one month enabled them save money which could not be earned in a year at their native villages. “We don’t know how the economic status of farmers of Punjab will be affected if they stop cultivating paddy, but our crops will die if we don’t earn this income by working tirelessly under adverse weather conditions for about a month,” said Kumar.

Sultan Mohammad, a paddy cultivator of Dehliz Kalan village, said organisers of groups of migrant labourers normally demand advance payment on the pretext of sending to their families behind. “According to labourers working in our fields, the income earned by paddy transplantation serves as recurrent capital for other miscellaneous incomes earned during the whole year,” said Sultan.

‘12-FOLD EARNING IN STATE’

Varinder Kumar and Murli Mandal of Katpar village in Bihar working in Punjab during paddy season, claimed that team work on paddy transplantation in Punjab for around one month enabled them save money which could not be earned in a year at their native villages. “We don’t know how the economic status of farmers of Punjab will be affected if they stop cultivating paddy, but our crops will die if we don’t earn this income by working tirelessly under adverse weather conditions for about a month,” said Kumar.