CM Sharma
Pouring out of vast numbers of labourers and workers on to the highways and railway tracks for long hazardous journeys back home from their workplaces during ‘Covid-19 enforced lockdowns' has exposed vulnerability of these classes to a sense of ‘food and financial insecurities' during such calamities. It is unfortunate that many of these had to bear the wrath of over-strained Corona Warriors – the police – for violating the social distancing norms in the process. Many succumbed to rail and road accidents. This happened despite of relief package by Government of India under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan (including Anna) Yojana, Jan Dhan and Ujjwala Scheme with direct benefit transfer facility of financial assistance to poor, farmers, labourers, elderly, women and divyangs. Whereas the vulnerability of this class to rumours and machinations of antagonistic political parties and vested interests has also been exposed, various issues of serious concern also arise.
In all fairness, none can refuse to acknowledge that for long one can live without everything, but food, To fulfill this basic requirement of life the farming community, residing in around 6.5 lakh villages of India, have continued to brave the inclement weather and shortage of labour to keep the wheels of food production moving whereas, most of the public activities including industries, commerce and services have come to a grinding halt during more than forty days of the lockdown not only in India, but across the world. Farmers have again emerged as ‘all time warriors' in the fight against Covid – 19 with social distancing norms as the only weapon.
This crisis, therefore presents an opportunity before the policy makers to have a relook at our development strategies and placing on top priority the farming and food supply/ distribution sector for addressing sustainability issues. Gandhi Ji's concept of gram swarajya needs to be given the practical shape now, particularly in the context of recent message of self reliance and self sufficiency for majority of the country's needs given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Sarpanches from across the country on Panchayati Raj Day.
Top priority shall have to be given always for optimizing production of food, fiber, fodder and fuel items through adequate financial and logistic support to efficiently harness water resources for irrigation purposes, manage crop nutrients and pests and to establish stores, godowns and food banks at panchayat level in the least for maintenance of sufficient food stocks for longer durations. Top priority is also required for strengthening and rejuvenation of disaster response machinery and operations to ensure that food supply/ distribution amongst the crisis hit population doesn't take time.
As a part of the longer duration framework for sustainable development the farm level cottage industries shall have to be focused through intensive and formal practical trainings in skill development and management of rural and urban youth in respective areas.
Adequate training and timely involvement of formal institutions and registered non-governmental organizations (ngo's), religious bodies, etc. in distress mitigation efforts is essential at the national and state/ UT level. Let us not lose sight of the fact that many temples, gurudwaras and mosques too have provided exemplary services during the current crisis, be it with regards to food distribution or providing protective equipments.
At a time when India is grappling with the Covid 19 crisis through lock downs and other measures, worst kind of disasters have fallen upon the fast asleep residents of Gopalapatnam in Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of Thursday, the 7th of May 2020. The tragic death of eleven persons and sickness of more than eight hundred persons after inhaling poisonous Styrene gas leaked from a chemical factory LG Polymers Ltd. besides death of 14 migrating workers in a rail accident at Aurangabad on 8th of May 2020 have once again brought to the fore, callousness which has been adopted during industrialization in our country.
The industrialization has no doubt played an important role in economic development of people across the world and it has provided employment to huge man power and generated large amount of varied resources, but it has depleted and damaged the natural resources too. Imbalances have been created to such an extent that revival of the health of environment won't be possible without resorting to drastic and painful measures.
The factors of climate change, pollution and invasive species are accelerating. Emissions continue to rise. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere passed the 415 parts per million mark for the first time in July 2019 as reported in an article “Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life” in the Guardian by Jonathan Watts (2019). Even if global heating can be kept within the Paris agreement target of 1.5C to 2C, the ranges of most species will shrink profoundly. More than 80% of wastewater is pumped into streams, lakes and oceans without treatment, along with 300m-400m tons of heavy metals, toxic slurry and other industrial discharges. Plastic waste has risen tenfold since 1980, affecting 86% of marine turtles, 44% of seabirds and 43% of marine mammals. Fertilizer run-off has created 400 “dead zones”, affecting an area the size of the UK.
Through Covid 19 catastrophe, Mother Nature has sent ominous signals. Isn't it the time for the society to wake up? ….. There is no doubt, a strong need to reorient town and village planning. Whereas the urban areas need to be sanitized, empowered and specialized agricultural commodity interest groups and farmers producer organizations need to be formed in rural areas to establish employment generating post harvest management units and markets on farm, as well as off farm.
Sufficiently large number of small and medium scale rural industries and enterprises with forward and backward linkages need to be established and strengthened at village or panchayat/ block level. Agriculture based non polluting industries should grow fast to meet basic human and animal needs. It is also the time for industries to work in a greater spirit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for universal prosperity.
The author has worked as Dy. Director of Agriculture in Jammu
