Telangana farmers, farm labourers return to migration amid water shortages, crop losses

Crop losses, water shortages and deficient rainfall are reportedly driving farmers and farm labourers from parts of Telangana to Karnataka, Maharashtra and other destinations. Locals say distress migration has intensified in Gadwal and Sangareddy, with students and elderly people also affected.

Hyderabad: Farmers and farm labourers in Telangana are once again migrating to other States in search of livelihoods, as drought-like conditions, crop losses and water shortages force them to leave their villages.

Over the last few years, farmers in Telangana had employed workers from Bihar, Odisha and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Many landowners and farm labourers who had earlier migrated elsewhere for work had returned to their fields in the State to cultivate crops.

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However, this Vanakalam season, small and marginal farmers and farm labourers are once again undertaking long journeys to Karnataka, Maharashtra and other places for work, even before harvesting is completed in many areas.

The trend is particularly visible in the erstwhile Palamuru region, the home district of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Several small and marginal farmers owning one to three acres in Jogulamba Gadwal district are migrating to Raichur, Mumbai, Kadapa and other places in search of work.

Farmers who cultivated cotton, chilli, castor and groundnut on rainfed lands in Gattu, Ieeja, Rajoli, Dharoor and Ketidoddi mandals are moving to Raichur, Yadgir and Mumbai after their crops withered due to a lack of water, resulting in heavy losses, said CPI Gadwal secretary Anjaneyulu.

Youngsters, including intermediate students, are also moving to Hyderabad to take up temporary jobs in hotels, security agencies and catering services.

“This trend, which had almost disappeared from the region, has resurfaced due to drought-like conditions and crop losses,” Anjaneyulu said. Most migrants find work in rice and cotton mills in Karnataka, while some take up road construction and other construction-related jobs in Mumbai.

The hardships faced by migrant workers were highlighted by an accident involving villagers from Induvasi village in Gattu mandal on October 10. Three farm labourers died and several others suffered grievous injuries when a truck hit their tractor on a national highway. About 35 villagers were travelling towards Yadgir in Karnataka at the time of the accident.

Locals fear the situation could worsen over the next couple of months. The State government has been appealing to farmers to avoid cultivating crops during the Yasangi season, raising concerns that this could force more people to migrate in search of livelihoods.

The situation is similar in several thandas in Narayankhed, Zaheerabad and neighbouring areas of Sangareddy district. Small and marginal farmers, accompanied by family members, including students, are migrating to Karnataka and Maharashtra to work in sugarcane mills and fields.

Low crop yields, mounting losses and a lack of water have driven the migration. Locals said even people aged above 70 were travelling to Bidar, Belagavi and other places in Karnataka in search of work.

Much of the cultivation in these areas depends on rainfall. With the State receiving deficient rainfall this season, many farmers have abandoned their crops midway. Locals estimate that nearly 60 per cent of the people from 160 thandas in Narayankhed constituency are leaving for other places in search of work.

Tenant farmers are among the worst affected. Many who cultivated paddy suffered losses after their crops withered due to a lack of water. With severe power and water shortages during Vanakalam
and concerns that the situation could worsen in Yasangi, tenant farmers are migrating to Karnataka and Maharashtra to repay loans and lease amounts.

Though seasonal migration is common in these regions, locals said the situation was particularly grim this time, with many families forced to leave their elderly parents behind while seeking work elsewhere. Students, too, are being compelled to drop out of schools and colleges to support their families.