‘Bitter’ sugarcane workers from drought-stricken Marathwada hold little hope from Lok Sabha poll
As the sugarcane harvest season concludes, seasonal migrant workers from the drought-hit Marathwada region return home, facing a grim reality. Despite months of toil in the sugarcane fields of western Maharashtra and Karnataka, their plight remains unchanged. Approximately 12 to 15 lakh residents of Marathwada’s districts migrate annually to the sugar belt, compelled by the scarcity of job opportunities. Their hope for a better future remains elusive amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha poll.
With the sugarcane harvest season coming to an end, seasonal migrant workers from the drought-hit Marathwada region, who spend months toiling in the sugarcane fields of western Maharashtra and neighbouring Karnataka, are back home, but hold little hope that the outcome of the ongoing Lok Sabha poll will bring any change to their ‘bitter’ plight.
Every year, about 12 lakh to 15 lakh residents of Beed, Jalna, Parbhani, Latur, Nanded, Hingoli, Dharashiv (previously Osmanabad), and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (previously Aurangabad) districts in the Marathwada region migrate to the sugar belt — Sangli, Kolhapur, Pune, Satara, Solapur, and Ahmednagar — driven by scant job opportunities in their villages and nearby towns.
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