The Hindu : NHRC asks Gujarat to file report on Mahabubnagar labourer's death

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 09, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

NHRC asks Gujarat to file report on Mahabubnagar labourer's death

By K. Venkateshwarlu

MAHABUBNAGAR Feb. 8. Moved by the plight of young widow of a labourer, from this drought-affected district, who has gone "missing'' while working on the Narmada Canal project in Gujarat, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has directed the Chief Secretary of that State to file a detailed report.

Finding it difficult to make both ends meet, after he lost his two-acre crop to severe drought conditions, 22-year-old Laxma Reddy joined others of the Nellikondi village in a long arduous journey to the canal project site in remote Gujarat. Married about a year ago, he left behind his wife, Chittamma, promising her that he would be back in a few months time.

On January 22, Chittamma received the news that her husband had gone "missing.'' A day later, she got the shocking message that he died after a accidental fall at the project site. Three days later, she was informed that the body had to be buried there, as they had no money to send it to his native village. Grief-stricken Chittamma ran from pillar to post but it was of no avail. The Palamoor Contract Labour Union (PCLU), which has been fighting for the cause of the farm labourers, sent a petition to the NHRC. Acting on the petition, the NHRC has asked the Gujarat Government to respond.

There are many like Chittamma who suffer in silence and are helpless. According to the PCLU, there have been 560 such "missing'' cases in the past. Drought forces them to migrate to far off places in search of work and there is just no trace of them later. The union has filed as many as 45 habeas corpus petitions in Mumbai courts, seeking directions to the State to produce them.

Popular as "Palamoor labour,'' (the earlier name of the district), the district is known for being one of the main "feeding areas'' of human labour in the country. From the controversial Narmada in Gujarat to Alamatti in Karnataka, no project is complete without their sweat and toil. Of the 35 lakh population in the district, it is estimated that an overwhelming six to seven lakh people fan out to far corners of the country. And the numbers keep growing every year, with the rising intensity of drought.

"We were waiting for the `Amavasya' to pass. All of us will for go to Raichur (in Karnataka) for work. You come again after a week, you will find many of us out,'' said Hanumanthu of Mallampalli- Kothapalli, a remote tiny village in Ghattu mandal of the district. Of the 60 families, 40 would be out. Already 10 houses have been locked.

A combination of factors force them to migrate. Two rivers, Krishna and Tungabhadra pass by but there are not many irrigation projects. Nor was there any serious attempt at harvesting rainwater in the past. It is only during the last three years one hears of watershed and related programmes. Then a majority of the farmers have small landholdings producing just about enough to feed themselves.

Too poor to tap groundwater, through electric pumpsets, almost entirely they depend on the rain. Deficient or no rain means shrivelling or drying up of crop. "We hardly have a choice. We have to either migrate or die of starvation here,'' says Chinnodu of Kothapalli village.

How about Government programmes like Food-for-work (FFW), which was essentially an employment-generation programme in drought-hit area ? In the normal course, it should benefit people in parched areas and check migration. But in this district it has not made any dent.

The District Collector, K. Madhusudhan Rao, disputes and says instant results cannot be expected. "The fight against drought is continuous. It takes time to see the impact of FFW and the watershed programmes working on the ground.''

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NHRC asks Gujarat to file report on Mahabubnagar labourer's death