There is no restriction from police on harvesting in Palamu. Labourers are free to do agricultural work as per their convenience. SP Ajay Linda, when asked asked if police have restricted harvesting time to just 4 hours as was complained by famers of Kajru, Kulya villages and that this permissible time is in the morning only to which Linda said, “There is nothing like this. There is no word about this kind of things at all. Who the police are to fix this limit of harvesting time? Harvest your crop as you like or choose. ”
Linda further said, “A farmer or labourer is free to work in the fields. Our only sincere advice to them is to maintain social distancing if it is harvesting, binding sheaves of wheat, rahar etc and maintain a distance when eating in the fields too.”
Secretary state disaster management Amitabh Kaushal when asked if there is any embargo on any agricultural activities in this ongoing lock down phase said, “ Absolutely nothing. The MHA has not put any curb. A farmer is at his liberty to engage labourers for harvesting. We only press for adherence to social distancing as we do with others.”
He said, “The complaints of the farmers that police permit 4 hours of harvesting will be discussed with the DC Shantanu Kumar Agrahari but I tell you the MHA has nothing to do with any timeline for agricultural activities.”
“Do your agricultural activities as per your own convenience and so where comes this issue of time restrictions, which is a non existing issue,” reiterated Amitabh.
Asked if police will allow agricultural activities to be done before sunset Linda said, “I repeat farmers and labourers are at liberty to use whatever time of the day forenoon or afternoon or both for their agricultural works. Police have nothing to do with this rather we will be happy if labourers return to fields maintaining social distancing.”
Officer in charge of Chainpur police station Sunit Kumar said “ Agro activities are on in villages like Pathra, Karso, Bouree etc and there is no problem there at all.”
SDPO Sadar Sandip Kumar Gupta said “Our SP Linda has given us strict orders to see that farming goes on without any problem and police are getting co operation from the farmers and the labourers as well.”
A farmer Narender Pandey said all harvesting of wheat rahar etc should be over by the third week of April as otherwise there may be its adverse effect on the standing ones.
Sources said hundreds of men here in Palamu are under institutional quarantine as safety measure for health which has also created a temporary crisis of labour power at this time of harvesting here.