Labourers and farmers in India starve as the drought worsens.

Patna, (Bihar Times): More bad news for Bihar. Marginal farmers and landless farm-labourers who, like every year went to Punjab and Haryana on the eve of monsoon, are on way back at the peak time of the rainy season this year. The reason: scanty rainfall in north India has reduced their demand considerably. With drought greeting them at home there is no way for them to go now––but to starve or commit crime.



What a strange irony it is. Till a month back there was reports that like last year this time too there would be shortage of labourers from Bihar and eastern Uttar Przdesh. This shortage was attributed to the launching of several central and state government projects and to some extent NREGA too. Farmers of Punjab were prepared to pay them double their wages. To overcome the labour-shortage many farmers were even planning to buy paddy-transplanters.

But drought-like situation in north India shattered all the dreams of the migrant labouers. The only one to do good business in this time of distress is the railways and its employees––many of them in the form of bribe. In the normal situation it is easy to get reservation in trains traveling to the east––Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh. But today they are all jam-packed. Often railway employees are seen doing ‘brisk business’.

The return journey of migrant labours, which usually starts after the harvesting is over on the eve of festival season of Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath has thus been advanced by two months. But while in the past they used to return with wallets and bags full this time their pockets have been picked by the cruel hands of nature.