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Ludhiana paddy farmers hiring buses, booking train tickets to bring farm labour from UP, Bihar
One such bus, ferrying nearly 30 farm labourers from UP, arrived in the city on Tuesday night
As paddy-sowing season in the state is set to start from Wednesday, farmers in Ludhiana are busy hiring buses and booking train tickets to bring farm labourers from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar.
One such bus, ferrying nearly 30 farm labourers from UP, arrived in the city on Tuesday night.
Confirming the development, Dr Jaspreet Kaur, senior medical officer (SMO) of the Government Meritorious School quarantine centre said, 30 migrants have arrived and all of them have been screened. “They will be kept in isolation at the sheds, located outside the village. As per the protocol, we will collect their samples for Covid-19 test,” said Dr Jaspreet Kaur.
Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary, Bharti Kisan Union (Lakhowal), said six such buses bringing farm labourers from UP and Bihar have been sent to Barnala.
“The farm labour has started returning to Punjab. Many labourers have got in touch with the farmers and expressed their intention to return,” said Lakhowal.
He said farmers are seeking permission of the district administration for bringing these workers for transplanting paddy.
Jagmohan Singh, a farmer from the Sidhwan Bet area, said, “As many as 10 farmers of his village have collected nearly Rs 30,000 to bring back migrants from Rae Bareilly in UP. Travel expenses will also be shared by the labour.”
BJP leader Narinder Sngh Malhi, who is also a farmer, said farmers in the Hambra area have arranged 11 private buses to bring farm labourers.
“The migrant labour is expert in transplanting paddy under the conventional method. Due to a limited timeframe for transplantation, farmers depend on these labourers,” said Malhi.
Anup Singh Grewal , a farmer from Hambra, who is busy booking train tickets for labourers, said, “Migrant farm labour is cheap and more efficient than the labour available in the region.”
“Witnessing the exodus of migrants from Ludhiana, the local labour has also jacked up rates and demanding Rs 7,000 to 7,500 per acre for paddy transplantation, whereas migrants charge anything between Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 per acre,” said Grewal.
Chief agricultural officer (CAO) Narinder Singh Benipal said rice transplantation is done over 255 hectares of land in the district. “The farmers can bring labourers, provided they abide by the health protocol of the government,” said Benipal.
Farmer union leader BS Rajewal, who is against brining labourers from other states for transplanting paddy, said some farmers were illegally bringing labourers from the Ambala border area and not informing the health department about them.
“First, we are snatching the livelihood of the local labourers during the times of pandemic and, second, we are also endangering our lives by bringing the labourers, who could be carrying symptoms of coronavirus,” said Rajewal.
