A photo story of a farmer's life

 


Shyam Singh, 44, a farmer, said that agriculture is the only source of his income to survive his family. India is an agrarian country, with around 60% of its population depending on agriculture.

 


This is the hut of Shyam Singh, where he and his family have been living for the last five years. He said, "We are helpless to live in a small hut. If we had money, we would have a house.".




Shyam Singh is working on his farm and supplying water to the crop. He said, The government never helps us, as every year my crop is damaged byy flooding."The agriculture sector in India shares 16% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).




Rajkumar Singh, the 16-year-old son of Shyam Singh, works with his father. He left school because his family couldn't afford to send him to school. He said,There is no government scheme for farmers' children.".





Rajkumar Singh is working on the farm. He said that if they had money, he would go to school and never have done this work. He wanted to be a teacher, but his dream has now ended.

 


Ramwati, wife of Shyam Singh, is carrying her cow for food. She also works with her husband in farming.




Bablu, a farmer, said the government never helps us. Many times, our crops are destroyed due to flooding. India’s 80% farmland relies on flooding during monsoon season. Source: Wikipedia article on Indian farmers'.

 

From left to right, Rajkumar, Bablu, and Shyam are talking to each other. Every year, 13.7% of farmers commit suicide throughout India, according to the NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau).

Shyam Singh is going home after working the whole day. He said that the government never helps us. We always live in trouble. During the year 2011–2012, 16272 farmer’s suicides and 46 farmer’s suicides occurred every day in India, according to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB).



Rajkumar and his father are relaxing after finishing work. Shyam Singh said, “We always went to government officials to get loans to buy seed for the crops. Every time they refused our application and pushed us."

Why Unauthorized?

The people of the Khora Colony blame the state government for its attitude. Every government had ignored the issue of the colony. So people are struggling to make the colony develop and obtain the status of authorization. Residents of the colony are living in hopes that someday the government will look into our problems and issues. People are angry and willing to get authorization from the government so that the colony will come into the mankind of development. People are demanding to make the colony authorised.

Even the last ruling government approved Rs 300 crore for the development of the Khora colony along NH-24 between Noida and Ghaziabad, which was almost treated as a no man's land. Now, the state government has decided to spend Rs 200 crore out of the total outlay of Rs 300 crore on roads, sewer systems, education systems, electricity, and water systems. Jai Karan Yadav, resident of Khora village and youth leader, said no work has been done since announcements. Unauthorization is due to the fact that the MLA and MP of Ghaziabad district are from the opposition party rather than the ruling party, and because of it, the state government remains silent on this issue," he said.


A new government came into power, so all old projects and announcements were stopped. Every time the government makes promises and announcements, no work takes place in reality. Nitin Chauhan, 20, a resident of Kala Enclave, Khora Colony, said many times we approached the Pradhan of the colony to build roads and streets, but no substantial steps were taken besides promises. The government only missed us during election time, he said.


A view of the Khora Colony .





The entire residential area has been divided into various pockets and given names. This colony is still not recognised by local government authorities. Basic needs like electricity, water, roads, and hospitals are available on a temporary basis. Empty plots are becoming landfills of garbage as no municipal cleaners come to the colony.




Pankaj Kumar Pal , an engineer and Resident of Khora Colony.

 

Pankaj Kumar Pal, an engineer and resident of Saraswati Vihar Khora Colony, said the people of the colony are treated as a vote bank during election time, and the local leader doesn't want it to be authorised because if it gets authorised, their power will be lost. Also, some people illegally occupied government land, Pal said.

Mr. Brijpal Jatav: "The Pradhan of the Khora Colony remains unavailable to comment on this issue because he is out of the area due to family reasons.".

Some people in the colony, being anonymous, said, "Nothing can happen in this colony because the leaders motives are poor and the colony only missed election time. People said we can only wait, but one day the state government will understand our problems and issues.

My Journey to AJK-MCRC

AJK-MCRC is the Premier Institution in the Field of Mass Media.This is One of the Prestigious and Famous Institution to study Journalism and Film Making.



Aadil Saifi Working in his office.

I, Mohd Nadeem Saifi, always had a dream to study journalism at AJK-MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia, and my dream is now complete. Since in my family no one was very educated, things were very difficult for me because no one was there to guide, advise, or provide a good educational atmosphere. This all happened with the support of my family, especially my brother, who always stood by me in every situation and boosted my confidence whenever he saw I was losing. My hard work, determination, and willpower are the keys to achieving my goal.




On the first day of the class, there was a warm welcome from the classmates, and I was quite happy and surprised because everyone was showing interest in talking and discussing, which I liked most. All classmates are interesting, friendly, and more cooperative and supportive in any kind of help or suggestion. So all my dreams and wishes are now fulfilled, and I hope to get their help in the next two years.


When I reached the security guard of the centre to learn about his interactions with students, he told me, "Students are more friendly and cooperative, but he refuses to disclose his identity due to security reasons.".