COVID-19 lockdown makes it difficult for Tharparkar's workers to feed families

HYDERABAD: The lockdown may have been introduced to stem the coronavirus from spreading, but the country's workforce hailing from Thar have been facing hardships as they struggle to feed their families, reported The News.

An assessment carried out by the Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP) showed that most of the workers were associated with the garment business and other factories with a small number of unskilled workers, were struggling for survival as all business activities in urban and rural areas have been closed.

Many of these workers were sole breadwinners in their family. Apart from this, daily wage earners in remote desert villages have also lost their source of income due to COVID-19 restrictions. Tharparkar district is already prone to drought and other natural vulnerabilities due to its arid status.

Wahid Dino, a daily wage earner from desert village Modore was among the youths who used to earn Rs300-Rs400/day. Since the imposition of the lockdown, he is jobless.

Modore has a small population of people that have a few animals, mainly goats for survival. The village comprises of around 200 households, mostly dependent on rain-fed agriculture and livestock rearing.

Abdul Karim, another community activist from Bhojakar village in the neighbourhood, told The News that eight workers, associated with garment factories in Karachi have returned back, after the closure of business activities.

Karo Bheel, also a worker from village Katho Bheel, said he used to cut trees for supplying to charcoal manufacturing units nearby, earning Rs250-Rs300/day by selling wood at Rs50/maund. But now the charcoal-making units have also been shut down, leaving them in a vulnerable situation.

These workers in urban areas used to earn and feed their poor families back home in difficult times. Thus, supply chains to rural areas of Tharparkar have severely been curtailed, the finding said.

Around 116,473 households have been affected by the current lockdown

Of those who were surveyed, 35% were agriculture and livestock workers, 42% daily wagers, 15% enterprise shopkeepers, 5% services (barbers, tailors etc,) and 2% were those who had started a business through interest-free loans.

Some people are trying to cope with the situation by selling their assets and taking loans from money lenders for survival, the report revealed.

Reports of monsoon clouds gathering on the horizon have also given hope to the local community, as many families also depend on rain-fed land for agriculture. At this time, farmers demand the provision of seed for rain-fed agriculture and drenching for livestock for economic resilience, reports said.

TRDP CEO Dr Allahnawaz Samo said they have taken an initiative to revive the economy of Thar Desert.

He said May, June, and July were crucial in the desert as wells went dry and animals turned weaker due to a shortage of fodder and water, both.

Bumper food and cash crops may secure farmers for a year

Dr Samo, who has wide knowledge about desert ecology and changing scenario, believes that in case the farmers have bumper food and cash crops, they would be secure for a year, as they saved food and sold the cash crop to buy other essentials and fodder.

“However, if they do not have seeds, they may face hardships throughout the year,” he added.

Herdsmen migrating to canal areas usually return back in October and face hardship in finding fodder for their animals. “Besides giving seeds, we are also providing fodder and medicines to the herders to save their animals,” he said, adding that if this support was not provided, herders would end up selling animals for survival. 

Some poor families also end up getting stuck with local loan sharks, who charge them xhigh-interest rate for buying seeds from dealers. In return, they provide their products to these traders at low rates.

Originally published in The News