Title - Mad rush for labourers as paddy season nears

Landlords sweeten deals as labourers in short supply

Patiala/Rajpura:
As the paddy sowing season nears, hundreds of farmers from across Punjab are thronging various railway stations in the state, hoping to hire cheap migrant labourers arriving from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Rajpura is one such station.The paddy season officially starts on June 10 and the anxiety among the farmers is palpable here as the number of labourers arriving in the state has been dwindling for some years.A recent Bihar Government survey indicated a drop of over 30 per cent in the number of labourers migrating to other states. Experts say with better opportunities available in their home states, more and more migrant labourers prefer to stay put.Such is the desperation among farmers to hire whatever labour is available, that farmers offer them extra money, free accommodation and intoxicants in a package deal.Experts say Punjab needs an average of 7,00,000 labourers to sow paddy on nearly 27 lakh hectares of land. The farmers here depend on migrant labour to do 90 per cent of their work.Jaspal Singh, who works for a landlord in Nabha, awaits the arrival of the Express train from Bihar in the scorching heat. “I have been told to get at least 50 labourers as none here wants to work in the fields and if they do they demand too much money. Hope the ones getting off the trains won’t quote too high a price,” he said.Another landlord from Sangrur, Harditt Singh, rued that migrant labourers, demanded almost Rs 3,500 per hectare in addition to food and liquor. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to make a living from farming as profit margins have been declining every year due to high input costs,” he said.Ram Din, a labourer from Saharsa in Bihar, said, “I am getting work in nearby fields in Bihar. I am satisfied with my pay. This is my last year here and then I am planning on settling in my home state with my son, who works as a driver in Ludhiana.”Same is the case in Uttar Pradesh as more opportunities are arising for labourers there. Chottey Lal, an experienced paddy labourer who is now settled in Lucknow, said, “Earlier, we would stay in Punjab for almost 10 months, but now we come only in the winters and return to work on our fields after three months working here. We have ample work available in our home state.”

Crisis in making:Punjab needs an average of 7,00,000 labourers to sow paddy on nearly 27 lakh hectares of landHowever, as better opportunities have become available in their home states, more migrant labourers prefer to stay put