Telangana: Peak Cotton Picking Season May Hit Census in Adilabad

Ankoli (Adilabad): A mismatch between the schedules of farmers and teacher enumerators is jeopardising the effectiveness of the integrated caste census (household survey) that commenced here on Wednesday.

Farmers are occupied with the peak cotton picking season, leaving their homes by 8 am daily and returning by 6 pm. Meanwhile, government primary school teachers are at school from 9 am to 1 pm, after which they begin enumeration work in their respective villages.

Teachers have requested a relaxation in their school duties to ensure the success of the family survey. They report that it takes approximately one hour to complete the 75 questions in each questionnaire.

The cotton picking season is now impacting the integrated caste census, as enumerators struggle to reach family members in the erstwhile Adilabad district. Women, men, and youth are busy in the fields picking cotton and spraying pesticides, leaving only the elderly at home.

Enumerators often find no family members available when they visit houses within their assigned blocks. Additionally, there is a significant demand for farmhands for cotton picking.

Saroja stated that each woman picks between 100 kg and 110 kg of cotton per day, earning Rs 800-900. Agricultural labourers earn more during this season compared to their usual daily wages of Rs 200. This does not account for their daily chores, such as preparing food and fodder for cattle.

Thandra Lachakka, an elderly woman from Ankoli, mentioned that she was alone at home as all her sons and daughters-in-law were in the cotton fields. She highlighted the difficulty elderly persons face in providing family details and noted the scheduling mismatch. She suggested that teachers could collect information if they visited homes before 8 am.

Government teacher S. Ramulu explained that they cannot leave school before 1 pm as per government guidelines. He added that government teachers are responsible for managing mid-day meals and then proceed to enumerate 10 houses per day.