Patna, (Bihar Times): May be due to the impact of
Thackerays or the Union government's National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act which provides job
locally, Punjab and Haryana, the food-basket of the
country, are facing acute shortage of farm labour this
wheat season.
Though there is no rampant anti-Bihar or anti-UP sentiment in these two north-western states yet there is no denying the fact that labourers from these two states are at least for now looking for work within their own states rather than risking their lives outside.
Reports say that though the farmers are prepared to pay more than the last year yet workers are not coming to harvest our crop. In the last season workers got Rs 1,500-1,700 for harvesting an acre of wheat. This year the farmers are not getting labourers even at the rate of Rs 2,500.
According to farmers, traders and officials the shortage of labour is likely to hamper the arrival of wheat in the markets. It may now reach the market by May 31.
Apart from NREGA and fear factor the initiation of various infrastructure projects by the Central and state agencies in these two states are also causing acute labour shortage. There are several big railway projects going on in Bihar. Besides, the East-West Corridors, the six-lane National Highway being built by the Centre, is also giving jobs locally.
Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act workers are getting the same wages, and that too at home, as they get from undertaking harvest operations in Punjab and Haryana.
Report also says that the problem of labour is more acute in places such as Mansa or Jalandhar, where the crop has fallen during the hailstorm and rains that lashed the growing parts a fortnight back. According to a farmer when the crop falls, it requires to be manually harvested as it will be difficult for the combine harvesters to operate in such fields. The problem in using a combine harvester in fields where the crop has fallen is that the machines suck in the moisture from the land, and thus, lead to higher moisture in the grains. With so few hands this year labourers have to do more work in view of the wheat with higher moisture.
Punjab and Haryana are not the only states to face this problem. The state of Maharashtra, from where the anti-North India agitation started, is also facing the music. Many factories are running short of labourers and so is the horticulture sector. The construction work has been hit hard by the stir launched by Bal and Raj Thackeray.
Though there is no rampant anti-Bihar or anti-UP sentiment in these two north-western states yet there is no denying the fact that labourers from these two states are at least for now looking for work within their own states rather than risking their lives outside.
Reports say that though the farmers are prepared to pay more than the last year yet workers are not coming to harvest our crop. In the last season workers got Rs 1,500-1,700 for harvesting an acre of wheat. This year the farmers are not getting labourers even at the rate of Rs 2,500.
According to farmers, traders and officials the shortage of labour is likely to hamper the arrival of wheat in the markets. It may now reach the market by May 31.
Apart from NREGA and fear factor the initiation of various infrastructure projects by the Central and state agencies in these two states are also causing acute labour shortage. There are several big railway projects going on in Bihar. Besides, the East-West Corridors, the six-lane National Highway being built by the Centre, is also giving jobs locally.
Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act workers are getting the same wages, and that too at home, as they get from undertaking harvest operations in Punjab and Haryana.
Report also says that the problem of labour is more acute in places such as Mansa or Jalandhar, where the crop has fallen during the hailstorm and rains that lashed the growing parts a fortnight back. According to a farmer when the crop falls, it requires to be manually harvested as it will be difficult for the combine harvesters to operate in such fields. The problem in using a combine harvester in fields where the crop has fallen is that the machines suck in the moisture from the land, and thus, lead to higher moisture in the grains. With so few hands this year labourers have to do more work in view of the wheat with higher moisture.
Punjab and Haryana are not the only states to face this problem. The state of Maharashtra, from where the anti-North India agitation started, is also facing the music. Many factories are running short of labourers and so is the horticulture sector. The construction work has been hit hard by the stir launched by Bal and Raj Thackeray.
