Jamshedpur (Jharkhand): Though the coronavirus induced lockdown has created difficulties for many, by taking away their livelihoods, residents of a tiny village in Jharkhand have gone back to their roots in order to earn a living in this hour of crisis.
The Gobradih village near the Odisha border in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district has attracted attention for all the right reasons during the lockdown, as the villagers have started cultivating cashew to deal with unemployment.
Prior to the lockdown, many villagers used to work at TATA in Jamshedpur, located around 50 kilometres away.
Sardar, a bus driver by profession, has now started cultivating cashew with his fellow villagers. He said that though a cashew tree had been planted in the village way back in 2009, no one paid much attention to it.
However, villagers now depend on the six acres of cashew plantation in their village and have even formed a team to protect the trees.
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The villagers have also fixed a fine for stealing cashews from the trees. One will have to shell out Rs 2,000 to the committee as a penalty if caught stealing.
The villagers' initiative also seems to have found support from their local representative, as Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahto said that with good support, cashew cultivation can become a proper means of employment.
He said that throughout his constituency, there are various cashew plantations, but people are having trouble selling the produce, owing to the lack of processing plants. He added that he is trying to set up a cashew processing plant here.
With no employment in cities during the lockdown, many migrant labourers are coming back to the village. The setting up of a cashew processing plants can see many migrants take up cashew plantation in the long run as well.
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