Asifabad farmers are having a lot of trouble getting ready and harvesting the mature cotton crop
Telangana : While the cotton crop is ready for harvesting, going to the fields to cut the cotton ears has become a risky job as more than one tiger is lurking
Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Cotton cultivating farmers in several villages of the district are in a do or die situation. While their cotton crop is ready for harvesting, going to the fields to cut the cotton ears has become a risky job as more than one tiger is lurking. A woman has already lost her life in a tiger attack while another farmer is still hospitalised as he had a narrow escape from the jaws of a big cat.
In the winter season, cotton farmers hope to earn a lot of money by harvesting their grown commercial crop but they have to face several hurdles and take loans at exorbitant interest rates. They grow the crop by working day and night for four months. To grow and protect the crop, they have to face health problems due to spraying of toxic pesticides, heavy rains and cold weather.
If the cotton crop, considered as 'white gold', is not harvested in the months of November and December, farmers cannot survive. They have to sell the produce to the trader and repay the loan. They have to invest the earnings and rent out the fields for another season. They have to keep money ready for many needs of themselves and their family members in a year.
K Narayan, a farmer from Sirpur (T), said, "Farmers have a lot of expectations from the cotton crop. They use the profits from cotton cultivation for the education and marriage of their children, buying essential items, buying jewelry for their wives, medical services and other emergencies. For them, the barns are a part of their lives."
However, harvesting cotton crop is now fraught with danger for farmers as tiger movement has increased and some of the big cats are attacking them. Still, they are forced to risk their lives to collect cotton balls even as forest officials advise them not to go to the fields to harvest cotton in view of the possibility of tiger attacks.
"Despite repeated warnings, cotton producing farmers are reaching the fields at 8 am. They are not showing interest in leaving the fields even though field staff is explaining to them the consequences of their work. We are in a helpless situation," said an official who flew a drone camera to monitor the movements of the tiger that killed Morale Laxmi (21) at Isgaon village in Kagaznagar mandal on Friday. According to officials, tigers are increasingly roaming the fields in search of mates and territory for breeding in winter. They consider cotton fields as their hideout. If a person bends down to pick up a ball, they pounce on him thinking he is prey.
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