Alot: Already reeling under the corona menace and bogged down with the threat of locust attack, farmers have been pushed too far. In Mehboob Khan’s landmark 1957 flick Mother India, Nargis was seen replacing the ox while ploughing her field due to poverty, decades later in reality, the same happened in Ratlam when a cash-ravaged farmer with the help of his daughter, ploughed his field as he did not have money to hire a tractor.
In a bizarre incident reported at Sherpur village situated on the outskirts of Alot, Radha Kumari has been ploughing the field with her father Jagdish Dhakkad, who owns a bigha of land.
Narrating his plight, Jagdish broke down while saying that he was penniless and could not afford any other means to till his land. “I do not have enough money to hire a tractor or purchase bulls.”
“Normally, one needs fuel worth around Rs 300 to Rs 400 to plough a bigha, but I do not have even that much of money,” he added.
Dhakkad said the ever increasing fuel prices is making their lives hell and pleaded the government to come to their rescue before it’s too late.
Meanwhile, farmer leader and district cooperative bank former chairman Virendra Singh Solanki took no time to corner the state government saying that the incident was enough to prove government’s failure.
“At a time when the government emphasised on Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and planned various schemes for upliftment of the girl child and is talking about women empowerment, the reality on Ground Zero is shocking,” Solanki added.
When contacted, a beaming Radha Kumari said she was happy to serve her dad in times of distress. She added that the government must reconsider its decision of fuel price hike, or else it would be very difficult for agri workers in future.
Notably, farmers have been instructed not to use children for such activities.
