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Description
Paddy-wise, Punjab is a bit skittish: the state’s landowners don’t have enough hands to sow the crop. So, over the years farmers have queued up at railway stations and bus stands to happily hire labourers from as far as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for a price that’s steadily gone up. And over the years, these hardy labourers have taken home the taste of Punjab; this time it’d be daru (liquor); because Bihar has gone dry. More than five lakh labourers descend on the state for sowing around 28 lakh hectares of paddy. The arrivals, though, have been shrinking since Centre’s job guarantee scheme MGNREGA. This year the story is somewhat different. “Liquor is not easily available in Bihar. So, this time, we’d insist on it as a part of the package,” said a labourer. “We were clear while striking a deal with our landlord that liquor will be on the house everyday, and he agreed. We are even planning to shift permanently to Ludhiana and work in some industry,” says Preetpal, from Purnia in Bihar. “I started having liquor when I was just 17. After a day’s hard work and three pegs down, no one is bothered if you work in Bihar or Punjab”, says Preetpal, who is also a kite string expert and comes to Punjab every December to earn some extra. Jaskaran Singh, a landlord, says in addition to Rs 2,300 per acre rate, he is providing Bhojpuri movies, a TV set and ration for the labourers. “This is just a small price. We used to provide bhang and ganja too. This year the deal also includes liquor,” he says. “Those who do not drink — there are just two in the group of 34 with me — have demanded chicken twice a week,” says Preetpal. Another farmer Karamvir Singh says “I am offering them TV, coolers and promising them work in the day shift only. I want to ensure they return to me the next season. Finding labourers, after all, is a tough task,” he says. “I have brought 11 men with me. We left MGNREGA wages back home for this period as visiting Punjab for these 40-odd days takes care of our expenditure. We can save, too,” says Ram Sharan, a migrant from Pilibhit in UP. “Initially we were a group of 40, but only 30 could manage as there were new roads being constructed there,” he says. Officials in the agriculture department say the impact of the labour shortage could be averted if the farmers in Punjab switch to mechanized transplantation costing Rs 10 lakh. “Given the present financial condition, farmers cannot spend so much. Therefore their dependence on migrants would continue,” says an official. “With a shorter planting season, Punjabi farmers are willing to pay much more,” says Rishi Kumar, from Saharsa in Bihar, who came to Punjab in 2001 in search of work. He now heads a team of 20 workers from Saharsa. The Punjab Preservation of Sub-soil Water Act 2009 bans paddy sowing before a fixed date to prevent farmers from drawing too much groundwater.
Keywords
Punjab, landowner, crop, farmer, railway station, labourers, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, MGNREGA, Sub-Soil Water Act, Punjab Preservation, financial condition, agriculture department
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