Punjab farmers accused of making tourists intoxicated

- Human traffickers lure workers with good wages and later exploit them

New delhi date. Friday, April 2, 2021

The Union Home Ministry has leveled serious allegations against Punjab farmers. In a letter to the Chief Secretary and DGP of Punjab, the Home Ministry said that farmers in the border districts of the state first intoxicate farm laborers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and then keep them in captivity and make them work inhumanely on their farms. The letter directed the state government to take action on the matter and submit a report to the home ministry.

The Home Ministry wrote in the letter that during the BSF interrogation, it was revealed that farmers in border districts like Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Abohar in Punjab had laborers from UP and Bihar doing unbearable labor. Between 2019 and 2020, 58 captive laborers were released by the BSF and handed over to the police. However, the letter did not provide any factual document or complaint regarding the allegations.

The letter said that most of the laborers were made to work in the fields by intoxicating them. They are made to work overtime and are not paid. Most of the laborers coming to work in the border districts of Punjab are from backward and poor families in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Human trafficking gangs lure such laborers to Punjab for good wages and later exploit them. The Home Ministry has accused Punjab farmers of human rights violations and demanded a report from the state government.