Hardwork and determination during the crisis created by the pandemic have made these transgenders, who chose farming, into successful and independent farmers in Chamarajanagar district.
No one has been spared from the wrath of the Novel Coronavirus, including transgenders, who are facing a worst situation, especially during the lockdown.
Five transgenders of Yanaganahalli and the surrounding villages, who were left to fend for themselves during the crisis, turned independent by taking up agricultural activities.
These transgenders, with the cooperation of their family members, have turned farmers and have began tilling on their share of ancestral land.
Meena, Deviyamma, Kempamma and Tahira have taken agriculture seriously, and Ragini has turned into a dairy farmer, with eight cows.
Expanding gradually
Speaking to DH, Meena said, “I returned from Mumbai six years ago and was begging to eke out a living. Now, after Covid-19 lockdown, we had to struggle to find food. No one gives us work even on daily wages. I had inherited one-and-a-half acres of land from my father and I decided to work in the fields. Initially, I cultivated horsegram and now, I want to sow ragi and jowar.”
Meena has ploughed the land and is awaiting rains, to take up sowing.
Deviyamma said, “I was in Bengaluru and possess 35 guntas of land. My brother was engaged in agriculture. After lockdown I returned to my native, as there was no work in Bengaluru. Now, I have sown maize and have become a full-time farmer.”
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