Morning walkers of another kind keep Delta roads busy

TIRUCHY: As the moist earth awaited the crack of the dawn, a woman in her late thirties stepped out of her home in a small village in Tiruchy. Soon after she hit the road, a few others, mostly women, joined her. Leaving several milestones behind, they kept walking. By the time the eastern sky was filled with warm colours, the group was far from their villages.

On both side of their path, acres of agricultural lands were lying ready for another season of Samba cultivation. They were not the typical morning walkers who circuit back home after burning calories. Life used to be slightly different for these walkers until the pandemic wrecked the farming sector, among others. 

These walkers, comprising traditional agriculture labourers, used to be much sought-after during the major cultivating seasons in this fertile Delta region. But now, they wander around villages in search of work, setting out from their homes in the early hours of the day and keep moving from one village to another, looking for farmers to give them work. 

Even though the Samba season has kick-started with fields being prepared and paddy transplanted, there is less demand for labourers, thanks to the increased mechanisation.Fatigued after covering almost 15 kilometres, the group reached a village in Manachanallur Block. Giving them relief was a farmer who invited them for work. Farm worker Kavitha, a resident of Valadi village, said this has been her routine for a while as the opportunities have become scantier.

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“After waking up around 4 am, we walk for more than 15 km through Lalgudi and Manachanallur blocks on a daily basis. For us every morning starts with uncertainty as several farmers have shifted to machines,” Kavitha said, adding that after hours of back-breaking work, she returns home worried, unsure of the next day.  Arunagiri, a member the environmental NGO Voice Trust, said unlike construction workers and other daily wage labourers, agriculture jobs are not available throughout the year.

“Earlier, there were more than 2,000 agricultural workers in Lalgudi, Manachanallur and Pullambadi Blocks, but now, only fewer than thousand such workers remain. Most have shifted to other sectors,” he said. Farm worker Ramesh, aged around 40, said he gets around `300 a day for transplanting paddy. 

Meanwhile, Agriculture officials said more farmers are preferring mechanised farming to cut costs and increase efficiency. “Earlier, transplanting used to be mostly manual work, but now more farmers are switching to mechanisation,” an official said. As the days pass by, farm workers like Kavitha are walking farther and farther in search of a farmer who might employ them.