Staying home not an option

Inadequate relief distribution is compelling farm labourers in Rajshahi, mostly from indigenous communities, to travel outside their   villages and unions to look for agricultural work.

As a result, they are not able to follow the health advisory   to stay home and maintain social distance to stem the spread of   coronavirus.

Through local representatives, the government started to   provide food support from March 27 to low-income groups outside social safety   nets to help them pull through the virus-induced shutdown.

But many poor families among the farm labourers in Rajshahi   are yet to receive any relief.

Talking over phone on April 3, Ashonto Bakla, a representative   of the indigenous Orao community of Chhatinipara under Rishikul union of   Godagari upazila, said most members of the 150 Orao families in his community   went to work at potato fields in Tanore, Paba and Mohonpur upazilas.

While many of them returned towards the beginning of April,   some 40 members of the community, mostly women, are still working at distant   places, he said.

Ashonto said they received relief, but for only three families   in the village.

"Every day, we are lobbying for more relief daily and returning home   barehanded," he added.

Rishikul Union Parishad chairman Shahidul Islam said till   April 3, his union received 5.04 tonnes of rice for 504 families, while at   least 4,000 families in the union require relief.

"I'm becoming crazy receiving calls [for relief]. I cannot   bear it when I see their miseries. I'm donating from my own savings, which is   not enough," Shahidul wailed.

Meanwhile, many farm labourers, who are currently working   outside their unions, have not even heard about relief distribution.

Nazir Orao and his wife Suchorita from the Orao community of   Godagari upazila's Kakonhat village are among them.

This correspondent met the couple on March 29 while they,   along with 12 other labourers, were loading a mini truck with sheaves of   wheat near a field in Paba upazila's Mahandakhali village.

The couple and their seven-year-old son had left their village   on March 28 and travelled 15 kilometres to come to Paba upazila for   agricultural work.

"We'll stay here for two weeks harvesting, threshing and   preparing wheat for sales," Nazir said.

He and Suchorita receive Tk 350 each per day at the end of   their work shift, in addition to daily meals and shelter provided by their   employer.

"After this job, we'll have enough to survive till the   beginning of Boro rice harvest in late April," said Suchorita.

When asked about coronavirus infection risk, Nazir said, "We   have no problem with coronavirus, we wear masks and keep distance from each   other in the field."

Some farm labourers, harvesting potatoes in Talondo and   Pachondor villages in Rajshahi's Tanore upazila, said they came from Porsha   and Sapahar upazilas of Naogaon district.

The workers said they could not find agricultural work in   their home villages as the Boro rice fields there are only getting irrigated   now.

Farm jobs are also becoming scarce, as potato and wheat   harvest season is coming to an end. In addition, people who lost their   regular income from other trades are competing for agricultural work.

Hunger drove blacksmith Kalidas Karmakar of Krishnapur village   of Tanore upazila to work at a potato field for two days to buy rice. Even   then, he had to borrow Tk 500 from relatives.

"I am struggling to feed my eight-member family as my shop,   that fetched Tk 600 daily, has been closed for about a week," he said.

"All my savings is gone. I am taking only two meals a day   instead of three. But I have to feed the kids thrice," he lamented.

"If I don't get relief soon, I will have to find a farm job   again," he said.

Regarding the risk of infection, he said "Maintaining physical   distance while working with other labourers is impossible. Still, I have to   endure the work to survive."

Kalidash said he begged the Pachondor UP chairman for relief   and was denied.

Pachondor UP chairman Abdul Matin told The Daily Star that out   of 6,000 ultra-poor families in his union, 4,000 are covered by safety net   programmes.

He said till April 4 he received six tonnes of rice for 600   families out of the 2000 ultra-poor, not covered by the social safety net.

"I'm in an awkward situation, who shall I leave out and who   shall I feed. Every one of them need relief," Matin said.

He also said because of the pandemic they had to force   hundreds of itinerant workers to go home when they came to Pochondor union to   find jobs in potato fields.

Paddy farmer Mostafa Kamal, too, claimed that the demand for   farm jobs has gone up.

However, he fears that there might be a labour crisis during   the Boro rice harvest season in the district by the end of this month, if the   coronavirus situation worsens and labour movement becomes further restricted.

In a press conference, the Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi   informed that they identified at least one lakh people including farm   labourers who require relief.

Till April 17, the district administration distributed 1,671 tonnes of rice and Tk 62.49 lakh in cash among 1,86,418 people in the city and nine upazila.