Nepalese labour shortage hits Himachal apple harvest

Aug 19, 2007, 2:30 GMT

Shimla, Aug 19 (IANS) With few Nepalese workers arriving in Himachal Pradesh this time, the apple harvest in the state has been badly hit.

For decades the highly labour-intensive harvesting of the apple crop has been heavily dependent on workers from Nepal who normally arrive in thousands every July for the three-month harvest season.

'For some reason, Gorkha labour arrival this time has been far less than last year, forcing farmers to look for workers from other parts of the state,' Lekh Raj Chauhan, president of the state apple growers' association, told IANS.

'But nobody can replace the hardy Gorkhas who are adept at carrying huge loads of apple boxes and baskets in the steep mountainous terrain of Himachal,' he said.

'Ever since commercial cultivation of apple began some five decades ago in the state, the industry has been heavily dependent on labour from Nepal. Now if they suddenly start to come in fewer numbers, it causes a lot of difficulties as no other labour can match their skills,' Chauhan added.

Apple is grown in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla, Kinnaur, Solan, Kullu, Mandi and Chamba districts.

'Labour is needed in large numbers in apple harvesting, first to pick the fruit from the tall trees and then carrying large conical baskets on the back to orchard godowns where the fruit is packed and graded in 22 kg boxes.

'These boxes are then carried by Nepalese labourers to the nearest motorable road to be transported by trucks to markets all over the country,' a farmer said.

Nepalese labourers here say that the fewer arrivals of workers are due to the return of near normalcy in their country, which gives them no reason to leave their villages.

Another reason is that younger Nepalese labourers are choosing to go to other parts of India, particularly metropolitan cities where they earn higher wages.

In recent years, there is also a growing trend among Nepalese to go to the Gulf and Middle East countries.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service