24-05-2025
Punjab farmers anxious as migrant labourers yet to arrive for paddy transplantation
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Bathinda: With only a week left for the start of paddy transplantation in the first zone of Punjab, comprising five districts, farmers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of migrant labourers.
Labourers from various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal, arrive in Punjab for paddy transplantation. Railway junctions in towns such as Ludhiana, Bathinda, Sangrur, Rajpura, Patiala, and Mansa become hubs as thousands of migrants alight at these stations. From the railway stations, they are either taken to various villages by waiting farmers or reach their destinations by buses.
In most cases, farmers hire the labourers much earlier, pay them in advance, and offer many other incentives. This time too, many farmers have deposited advance payments through Google Pay.
Some farmers feel that the area under direct seeding of rice (DSR) may increase due to the expectation of fewer migrants coming to Punjab, while others believe the migrants may start arriving in the next few days.
This year, many migrant labourers who stayed back in Punjab returned to their homes due to increased tensions between India and Pakistan.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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Transportation remains hectic in June despite rising temperatures, as trains from various far-off locations come packed with migrant labourers. During the Covid-19 pandemic, such activity was missing as farmers hired buses to bring labourers from various locations.
Paddy transplantation is set to start on June 1 in the districts of Faridkot, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Muktsar, and Fazilka. It will begin on June 5 in the districts of Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Roopnagar, SAS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Hoshiarpur, and on June 9 in the districts of Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Mansa, Moga, Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.
"We are waiting for the labourers very eagerly. A couple of farmers from my village have even sent money electronically to ensure the labourers reach in time, but we are still not fully sure of their arrival in the first week of June, as they have not booked their train tickets for Punjab yet," said farmer Shingara Singh from Giddar village in Bathinda, where plantation is to start on June 1.
Farmer Jagtar Singh from Lambi village in Muktsar said that although DSR is more pronounced in the districts of Fazilka and Muktsar, migrant labourers still arrive in large numbers.
This time, however, we have not heard from them. Farmer Harjinder Singh from Baggi village in Bathinda said they are still waiting for confirmation from labourers from Uttar Pradesh. The farmers are ready to provide more money if fewer labourers arrive.
Farmer Gora Singh from Bhainibagha village in Mansa said that although transplantation in Mansa is to start on June 9, there is no word about labourers even in the adjoining Bathinda.
Local farmers prefer migrant labourers
Migrant labourers are preferred for transplantation compared to local labourers as they work in groups and for more hours than local labourers. Three migrant labourers can transplant paddy in an acre in a day, while four locals are needed to transplant one acre in a day. Although wages for transplantation vary from area to area, on average, it is Rs 3000-3500 per acre, say farmers.
Paddy to be planted in 32L hectares
Paddy, including Basmati, is expected to be planted in nearly 32 lakh hectares in Punjab. Transplantation through DSR started on May 15, and it is expected that the area under DSR may increase. The state govt offers Rs 1,500 per acre as a cash incentive to farmers to adopt the DSR technique, which consumes less water than the traditional method of transplantation through puddling.
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