Back in MP, workers stare at hunger, uncertain future
■ Most guest workers left with just `100-500: Survey
Sumitra Adivasi (28) of Mochakhud village under Pohari tehsil in Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh shudders to think of her life post-lockdown.
She along with her husband, Tulsi, and their four children have landed at their village from Bhairanad near Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan where the couple were engaged as agriculture labourer, in second week of May. “We get wheat as wages for labour there. We had to wait for nearly a month in Sawai Madhepur to find any mode of transportation to our village. We along with two dozen others finally set out our long arduous journey to our village, sometimes walking and sometimes in tractors and trucks, on May three when we lost of hope of getting any vehicle,” she narrated before this newspaper on Tuesday. She had almost lost her 18-month-old daughter while crossing Chambal river on way. The baby slipped from her hands into the river. Her husband took a plunge at river to rescue the tiny tot.
“We had total `5,500 with us when we left Sawai Madhepur. By the time we reached our village, we had hardly `2,800 with us. We had to start our life afresh with this meager saving,” her husband remarked indicating the struggle ahead forthem for every piece of bread.
The couple has received 105 kg of wheat under Antodyoya scheme. Besides, they have already one quintal of wheat at `180 per kg locally.
“We may carry on for a couple of months. But, we are facing an uncertain future if we do not get any employment,” Tulsi said.
Tulsi is not the lone victim in MP of coronavirus outbreak. Maniram Ahirwar (42) of Tila village under Niwad district shared similar apprehensions. He, along with his wife, Poonam returned from Kapaseda in Haryana last month after their contractor laid them off.
“We have to plan out their future with our saving of `900”, as Maniram quipped sarcastically.
A survey of 360 guest workers, who returned to their villages from different states following lockdown, conducted by a Bhopal-based NGO, Vikas Sambad, has revealed that “23 percent of guest workers were left with an amount of less than `100, while seven per cent did not have a rupee with them.
About 25.2 per cent of workers had money ranging from `100 to `500, while 18 per cent have a savings ranging from `500 to `1,000.