Kolabira, 11.11, (Fah News Odisha): The labor problem continues to grow in the tribal areas of Kirmira, Likera, Kolabira of Jharsuguda district. It has a direct impact on farming. From 15-20 years ago, the farmers of Achal were doing farming by employing laborers. Now due to the problem of labor, it is seen that the farmers are working on the machines by relying on the machines. It is seen that the machines like thesher, harvester, power tiller, tractor, labeller, transplanter are being widely used in the farming work instead of the plough.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the use of plow has become almost extinct. Bullock carts are no longer seen even in rural areas. Farmers have been using tractors and power tillers instead of ploughs, since 30 years. When the grain is harvested, the process of plowing the grain, bringing the grain to the plow, and plowing the grain in the field of the tractor is going on. Now, for the past fifty seven years, it has been seen that agricultural machinery like threshers and harvesters have become the main means of grain harvesting. Kolabira region is a non-irrigated region and the farmers here do farming by worshiping the god Indra. This is because the paddy is often cultivated at one time because the paddy is ripening at the same time. As a result of which paddy has to be harvested at one time and within a week, there is not enough labor to meet the farmer’s need for threshing the paddy in the Thesar, Paobar tiller. There is little straw available for the cattle as the straw gets bunched up in the harvester and the theser. Farmers are no longer asking for cows to keep cattle. Due to the lack of irrigation facilities in Kolabira region, cultivation is usually done only in one kharif season. Around this time, even the laborers of around three to four months cannot find work anymore. Fruit juice workers are facing various factories and many are forced to go outside to work. The laborers who go out for threshing return to the village once during the great festival of Ganaphar in West Odisha. Once they are ready, they are sent to other states such as Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu for treatment. Now the season of paddy harvesting is going on, within a week or 10 days, short and medium term paddy harvesting will be done. Only 10 percent of unripe crops during the dry season will be harvested after 15-20 days. The government will collect paddy through packs from next 25. Now in Kolabira area, harvesters have been installed in the farms and harvesting paddy day and night. The collection of grain is being done in the facility. The farmer does not have to harrow or the problem of collection of straw. While farmers are completely dependent on machines, farmers who have given up farming due to labor problems are also continuing to farm and because they can do farming smoothly with the help of machines, it is seen that they are farming even in the fallow fields. On the other hand, especially in the villages, there is no more sound of good luck and gentle singing in the mouth of the farmer. Shagat was once a sign of nobility. People were proud to keep their carts nearby. When going out, the groom used to go in a carriage. A girl was also going to her mother-in-law’s house in a well-decorated carriage after going out. . Bullocks also received worship and the same.
Chariots were decorated during festivals. The cart is the only witness to the hard work of a farmer. Today, the cart that runs for miles without an engine, without fuel is almost dead. And no one wants it, the empire of tractors and power tillers of different companies making noise everywhere from the village to the city. No one had any idea that the carriage was rolling slowly, when the time would be lost in such a fast pace. Sameer Kumar Patel’s report from Kolabira (Fast News Odisha)