Amaravati: Urban workers migrating to villages in search of livelihood

Amaravati: Agriculture sector is providing employment to workers from urban areas amid coronavirus lockdown. In sharp contrast to people migrating from rural area to urban centres in search of livelihood, the trend appears to be going in reverse direction. Since those leading hand-to-mouth existence are now depending on agriculture for their livelihood.

For instance, the daily wage workers under the limits of Guntur Municipal Corporation have migrated to nearby villages,such as Lingayapalem, Kornepadu, Fifth Mile, Chintapallipadu, Garapadu, Pratthipadu, Koyavaripalem, Chinakondrupadu, Adavitakkellapadu and others.

Majority of labourers are able to find work in chilli fields. Each worker is paid Rs 7 for plucking one kg of chillies. In addition to that the grading, separation, packing, weighing, loading and transporting the chilli produce from agriculture field to market or cold storage too is generating employment for the daily wage earners.

M Murali Krishna, a chilli cultivation farmer, said the labourers from Guntur are increasingly coming to their village, Prathipadu, to work in agriculture fields. It is around 20 km away from Guntur. Till recently agriculture labourers from Srikakulam and Kurnool used to come to their village to work in agriculture fields. But now the workers from Guntur are competing with the migrant workers from other districts.

R Anjaneyulu, a daily wage worker, said he used to work as a hamali in Guntur Chilli Market Yard. Since the market yard is not conducting any business as it is in the Red Zone, they are deprived of wages. Hence, he is forced to move to villages in search of work. He is earning between Rs 400 and Rs 500 a day and spending that money very judiciously, he said.

Eluri Venkata Narayana, owner of Recology Agro Waste Management, said as he could not operate plant due to lockdown, the workers are forced to seek work in agriculture sector.