Twelve-year-old Madhu is a class 7 student in a government school. In the wee hours of Tuesday, he walked about three kilometres from Marepally to neighbouring Anantasagar to pluck cotton rolls in a field.
For the six hour work, he was offered Rs. 200 and the landlord promised to pay the amount on Wednesday, one day ahead of Dasara, the most important festival in Telangana. He wanted to buy, at the very least, a shirt so that he could enjoy the festival. His father expressed helplessness to provide money for it, as the crop on his land had failed.
The case of S. Anantaiah, who owns two acres of land in this village located in Kondapur mandal of Medak district, was different last year. “I had purchased a dress worth Rs. 1,200 for myself alone last year. But this year, the situation has worsened. I purchased two dresses for my four-year old and six-year-old children, each costing only Rs. 300. I did not purchase anything for myself,” Mr. Anantaiah told The Hindu .
In Anantasagar – with a population of about 3,500 and around 1,000 houses – about 80 per cent of the villagers are either farmers or farm labourers.
“Our financial condition is deteriorating day by day and I do not when it will end. I could not buy a dress for Ramzan, Bakrid and Muharram. The situation of many farmers is not much different. How can they buy a dress when they have to pay interest on the loans they have taken?” asked Md. Nizamuddin, who sold majority of his landholding to meet the requirements.
