The mountain people of Uttarakhand continue at the same pace as before the pandemic, with their daily lives open. COVID-19 has played out differently for them, though there is little understanding and compassion towards the isolated populations of the Himalayan region.
Mountains cover much of Uttarakhand, and 70.37% of the population live in rural areas. Agriculture and tourism are valuable sources of employment and income for the people. Nothing has changed for them, except the inflow of money that has first declined and now halted with the extended lockdown, which has thrown up newer challenges for the community.
For the farmers, the cropping cycle has progressed from March through May and now the Rabi crop is on the verge of harvest. For the mountain tourism sector, the most favourable season for travel, spring, is coming to an end and the erratic monsoon will start anytime soon. All the hotels, motels and homestays have stayed vacant for long now and might even continue so.
The sudden lockdown disturbed the supply chain of agricultural produce. The farmers were unable to reach the mandis and traders were unable to procure produce from the villages. This caused a low in sales, as the farmers were forced to sell to whoever they could within their permissible regional limits.
The blocked transportation disrupted the supply of synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. The rich and flourishing belt of apple along the Tons river is facing a critical crop management issue. As the timely availability of farm inputs has suffered in isolated villages such as Deora, Jakhol, Sankr and Dhatmir, the farmers might encounter huge production losses depending on the harvest status of apples. They are disheartened to see the state of apple nurseries and orchards in which they have invested their entire lives and hardship.
Jacking up prices
Kishori Lal, a farmer at Sankri, complained about the exploitative nature of private traders as they were selling farm inputs at a higher price than usual. Vikram Singh of Dhatmir was concerned about the post-harvest apple transport and sale, as their major market destinations are Dehradun, Delhi and Kanpur. With post-harvest storage facilities absent, the entire mountain community is prone to suffer the worst blow, with their investment recovery at stake. These setbacks are expected to have repercussions on the crop yields not only during the lockdown but also in the next season.
The farmers worry over the problems they are soon to encounter during the next crop season. With the fall in income and insufficient monetary returns, it would be difficult for the small and marginal farmers to invest in crop production. Babu Ram, a farmer at Deora, is worried that he will not be able to earn enough from the Rabi harvest, which will affect Kharif planting.
The tourism sector of Uttarakhand too faces a similar situation. Before lockdown, the tourist inflow has never been this low in the State, especially during the peak season of Char Dham Yatra. Narendra, a homestay owner at Lata village in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, was apprehensive about his finances. He had hoped to open his homestay in March during the welcoming season of spring in the Lata valley, an abode for trekkers, campers and nature lovers. But as the lockdown persisted week after week, the homestays still remain shut.
Yogendra Joshi, an expert guide for mountaineering and trekking, talks about the business low, cancelled trips and monetary losses. He fears that such sorry conditions will continue, as with the onset of monsoon, unfinished road construction and dreadful landslips, it will be more difficult for people to travel, causing more damage to the socio-economic conditions of the local community.
The current state of government investment in the mountain areas is limited. Are the mountain people neglected amid the emergency to provide proactive measures to contain the virus? The steps taken by the Union government does not seem enough for the mountain community to cover their losses, necessities and future expenses. It fails to accommodate the organic concerns and low purchasing power of the local people who have a limited and seasonal source of income.
(The authors specialise in agriculture and environmental sciences)
