Plight of migrant labourers in Kodagu evokes sympathy

Kodagu, being an agriculturally prominent district, produces coffee, cardamom, banana and pepper as the major crops.

Labourers are in huge demand throughout the year for the plantation works. Usually, workers from North India migrate to Kodagu for their livelihood.

After an increase in the market prices of coffee and pepper, there has been a rise in the number of migrating labourers as well.

But, the labourers from North East who had gone back to their native places during the Covid-19 lockdown have not returned to Kodagu so far. As a result, the district is facing an acute shortage of labourers.

Labourers from other districts and states come to Kodagu during the harvesting of coffee and pepper. Managers would select the labourers and would bring them to the plantations.

These labourers stay in the line houses of plantations. In some estates, they are paid well and in several others, the daily wages are not paid regularly.

However, the labourers do not have any other choice than to work, in order to earn their daily bread and for the sake of shelter, says labour leader Bharat.

He further said “There is no power supply in most of the line houses and the workers use kerosene lamps during the night. The roof of the line houses leaks during the rainy season. The condition of these labourers evokes sympathy from people. But, the owners of the plantations are unfazed and nobody would question the planters. The migrant labourers are deprived of their rightful provisions.”

An affected labourer said that in some estates, the documents of the labourers are mortgaged against money, in the form of advance salaries.

“We are made to work very hard. Without repaying the loan, we will not get the documents back. We cannot go back to our native places without repaying. We fall into trouble in a place which we do not belong to. The local officials are not listening to our woes. Our children have not seen the portals of the schools,” he adds.

Scarcity of labourers

P V Manjunath, a grower from Kunjila, said that there was a serious problem with a shortage of labourers in the district some years ago.

We got a respite from the problem after the labourers from Assam started migrating to Kodagu. These labourers carry out coffee harvesting, grafting and other works, he said.

This reduced the burden on the planters to a great extent as they did not have to source labourers from other districts. The migrant labourers from Assam who went back to their natives during last April-May have not returned. Now, the work in the plantations is hit, he added.