Men from almost every household in Mala Mangarh village move to cities to earn better living
This is the third successive year of drought and over 300 farmers from Mala Mangarh village in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district have migrated to cities. As the sowing of Rabi crop begins, empty, locked houses are a common sight in the village.
61-year-old Janak Rani owns two acres of land but the yield has been very poor in the drought years. Her three sons work as daily wagers in Mumbai and Delhi, as the income from farming is just not enough to meet the monthly expenses.
Janak Rani says, "I wish all my sons were in front of me all the time, but that's not possible as they have to earn for all family members. Here there is no source of income; therefore they have to move to cities."
Men from almost every household in this village move to bigger cities for 8-10 months during this time of year to earn better living as farming is no longer profitable. Some have come home for Diwali, but just for a week.
A migrant farmer, Sher Khan says: "We work in cities to feed our families. I have farmland but for the last 2-5 years the yield has been low - just 15-20 sacks of crop. It does not even cover our investment, forget about profit."
The district administration has declared drought in all 1,229 villages of Damoh district and has sought a Rs 106-crore relief package for the farmers.
There have been three farmer suicides in last one month but the administration says migration is not because of distress.
"Migration is not a problem at all. Farmers want for more money; any person who wants more money migrates. Keeping this in mind farmers migrate and after a few months return to their villages," said Damoh Collector Srinivas Sharma.