Over 1,000 migrant labourers are caught in a bind as they have been thrown out of work due to the country wide lockdown which entered the second week on Monday. Many of them are from Bihar and have been working in the chilli yard, spinning mills and ginning mills for the last three months.
“We have have already exhausted our savings. All mills and establishments have been closed and we are without wages and even our landlords are insisting that we pay monthly rent. Our landowner is not even giving us water and we have no option except to go back to Bihar,’’ said Sankat Thrupal, a migrant labourer.
Police and revenue personnel reached the place and the district administration was expected to take a decision.
Asia’s largest chilli yard has been closed down for more than five days by a special order from the Collector and District Magistrate throwing hundreds of daily labourers out of their jobs. The famed red chilli, popularly known as ‘Guntur Sannaulu,’ is known for its pungent smell and is preferred by markets in Europe and East Asia.
This is the peak season, when around one lakh bags of dried red chilli are brought to the yard in open trucks daily, and are traded by domestic and international buyers. Hundreds of hamalis earn daily wages ranging from ₹300-₹500 for ferrying chilli bags from trucks, carrying them to godowns and grading them. Several women workers too work in shanties, processing the chilli and cleaning them before they are packed and taken to cold storages.
Price crash
The first signs were felt a few weeks ago, when the prices quoted low as exports to China had taken a beating. A quintal of premium red chilli, which used to fetch ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 per quintal, quoted as low as ₹8,000 to ₹9,000 per quintal.
Chairman of the agricultural market yard Ch. Yesuratnam said stocks were being kept in cold storages with a capacity to store one crore bags.
“The market has taken a big hit. The borders too have been closed. For now, we are advising the farmers to store the produce in cold storages,’’ said Mr. Yesuratnam.
