Back from Dharavi, Jegatheesan says Usilampatti is what it was 15 years ago

With the influx of families, the taluk needs development, says social worker

A view of dry farmland near Pothampatti village in Usilampatti taluk. Photo: Special Arrangement

About 15 years ago, R. Jegatheesan, a resident of Chokkanathapuram village of Usilampatti taluk, left for Dharavi, Mumbai, to sell idlis with his brother and sisters. Due to lack of livelihood options in his village, Mr. Jegatheesan, who back then had passed Class 10, left his village.

Mr. Jegatheesan has now been forced to return to his native village due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. “Though other parts of Madurai district seems to have changed and developed, Usilampatti remains an exception. It has been around a month since I returned home, but I am unable to seek a job due to a dearth of livelihood options,” he said.

The lack of sufficient water for undertaking agriculture, stranded irrigation projects and the absence of industrial development in the Usilampatti block forced many families to migrate to the northern States in search of a livelihood over the last few decades.

Usilampatti Revenue Divisional Officer K.V. Rajkumar said that till date around 950 people had come from other states to the taluk during the lockdown. Most of them had returned from States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. They had mostly been involved in selling murukus, thattais, idlis and dosas, he added.

An official from the district administration said these families reached other states through a network of agents. “In many cases, husbands and wives migrate to other States while their children grow up with their grandparents in Usilampatti,” said the official.

All these families had to migrate as, for more than two decades, there had not been sufficient water to undertake agriculture, said P. Manikandan, president of Madurai District Wet and Dry Land Farmers’ Association. “The groundwater levels have fallen below 1,000 feet. The tanks have also been dry for the many years and they have not been desilted for many years,” he added.

Though the 58-canal scheme was completed last year, water was sufficient to fill only five tanks, he said. “Many farmers cultivate ‘Madurai malli’ (jasmine) in the region using water from tanker lorries. Though jasmine fetches good price in the market, these farmers sell it to agents for a pittance to be sent to scent factories in Dindigul. For many years we have been demanding for a scent factory in our region” he said.

Concurring with this viewpoint, O. Soundarapandian, a social worker from Usilampatti, said that due to lack of industries, many graduates were taking up low-paying odd jobs.

But, with the influx of large numbers of families from other States there was a need to provide some livelihood opportunities for them, he added.

District Collector T.G. Vinay said the officials havd started to collect details of all these families to assess their skill-sets. “We will then assess them with the requirements of the industries here. If the requirements match, we will also arrange for their training too,” he said.