Under a Flyover: Drought-Hit Bundelkhand Farmers Migrate to Delhi

Kishor Das is 60 years old. He is a farmer from Hamirpur district in Uttar Pradesh. Living under the Sarai Kale Khan flyover – he has come to Delhi for the first time. The reason? Consecutive droughts in his village has driven him to Delhi in search for work and survival.

Also Read: Why Children Are the Worst Affected By Drought

Every year, thousands of farmers from the Bundelkhand belt in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh travel to Delhi, looking for employment as daily wage labourers. Some have small land holdings in the village, while some are landless labourers. Incessant drought has destroyed their crops, in 2016 more so than usual. They are hired by a contractor who pays them about Rs 200 or Rs 250, much below the minimum wage limit for an unskilled daily wage labourer in Delhi, which is Rs 368.

They live under the flyover – bathing, cooking and sleeping – until they find someone they know in the city. Probably a distant relative or an acquaintance from the village who has migrated to Delhi for work as well. Most farmers live in Delhi for five to six months before heading back to their villages.

Also Read: Photo Essay: Drought-Hit Village in Bundelkhand Struggles for Life

Bundelkhand Belt: Chronic Drought Yet No Solutions?

Bundelkhand region comprises 13 districts spread over Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Over the past fifteen years, it has faced drought 13 times. Historically a dry region, districts under Bundelkhand like Jhansi, Tikamgarh and Chhatarpur have always employed traditional water conservation practices like Chandela-era water tanks. However, the number of water tanks have come down from 12,000 to 1,300.

According to a survey conducted by Swaraj Abhiyan in 12 villages in the Bundelkhand belt, around 40% villages in the region of Madhya Pradesh are left with two or fewer functioning hand-pumps. On the other hand, in Uttar Pradesh, in 59% of villages surveyed, there are more than 10 families that eat less than two square meals a day.

Also Read: Armed Guards Protect Last Water in Drought-Hit City of Tikamgarh

Clearly, the Bundelkhand region is no stranger to drought. Then why is the government not taking targeted action to mitigate the drought-like situation in the region?

Schemes Toh Theek Hai, But What About Implementation?

One answer to that question is that while Central and State government schemes are announced for Bundelkhand, they are not implemented, leading to no change in the situation on-ground.

For instance, in 2016, the Akhilesh Singh Yadav government announced Rs 867 crore in compensation for crop damage, and increased the number of working days under MNREGA from 100 to 150 days. Further, it also implemented the Food Security Act, under which food grains would be distributed for free for four months, starting in April.

But survey results show that in Madhya Pradesh, 5% of villages in the Bundelkhand region have ongoing MNREGA work while in Uttar Pradesh, only 6% of the villages have received the promised compensation for crop loss.

When Drought Becomes A Political Slugfest

A second answer to the question lies in the political tug of war for credit that played out in the aftermath of the distribution of drought relief material in Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh in 2016.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of trying to pass off drought relief provided by the Centre under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) as a state initiative.

Is it prudent that in such a scenario, pictures of Akhilesh Yadav are stamped on the bag and Prime Minister Narendra Modi pictures are missing?

Vijay Bahadur Pathak, BJP Spokesperson of Uttar Pradesh

The state government responded by saying th government was doing “some serious and compassionate work” at the behest of the Chief Minister, and that the funds coming from the NDRF were only for a period of three months.

When widespread drought is confined to arguments about who’s-doing-what and whose pictures should be on bags for drought relief, it becomes pointless to hope for a sustained debate on drought policies for Bundelkhand.

But for Kishor Das and the hundreds of farmers that come to Delhi every year, drought isn’t just a newspaper headline or a political issue – it is an everyday, lived reality. One which has transported them from the fields to under a flyover, and one which has, for all intents and purposes, made them drought vagrants.

Also Read: Akhilesh Yadav Stealing Credit for Bundelkhand Drought Funds: BJP