TAD NewsDesk, Hyderabad: Worried about another lockdown rumour to happen many agricultural labourers have left for their hometowns in Telangana. The respective farm bodies have been assuring them but it has all been in vain.
The trend of agriculture labourers’ flight is more visible in the tribal areas of Bhadradri district, and on both sides of Godavari, where lots of farmers sow the hybrid variety of red chilli crop, which has huge demand in the international market.
While each acre gives a bumper yield of about 40-45 quintals, farmers invest Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh per acre and depend on cheap labour available from Odisha, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh to till their lands.
K Rama Rao, one of the top chilli farmers in Venkatapurm said,
.“With news of virus spreading, they are worried and some 15,000-30,000, according to our estimates, have left. And when we tried to stop them, they said they are not willing to walk home again like last year.”
Following areas has seen a surge of flight of these labourers:
- Manuguru
- Aswapuram
- Vajedu
- Venkatapuram
- Pinapaka
- Bhadrachalam
- Kunavaram
- Dummugudem
A top labour department official said,
“Since this is the harvesting reason, these people are paid Rs 250 per day or exchange of produce for work depending on the understanding between farmers and them. In the current season at least 60,000 migrant labour are working in those areas.”
According to Kiran Vissa state committee member, Rythu Swarjaya Vedika said that the farmers are worried that the surge in COVID 19 cases might bring back the restrictions of lockdown and they would face heavy losses once again.
Vissa added,
“Some districts are facing a crisis, not all in Telangana. But fear is there and we are allaying those fears that no restrictions will be in place.”
Source: Times of India
