M A I N   N E W S

Drought-hit land owners sell ice cream
Gayatri Rai

Bathinda, May 15
Continuous drought for the past three years in various parts of Rajasthan has compelled landowners to sell ice-cream in neighbouring states to earn their livelihood as their land has turned barren.

Rajasthan landowners who are not able to earn their living from agricultural land, have been going to other states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab. They generally stay in other states between February and September. The rest of the year they spend with their families.

A majority of them sell ice-cream which they prepare themselves. Earlier, the trend was to go to Mumbai and other big cities of Gujarat in search of a livelihood, but due to increasing competition from local ice-cream manufacturers and branded ice-cream companies, they had to move to other places. In Punjab they found a suitable market and better chances of profit. They have been coming to Punjab for the past two to three years.

Bathinda which shares its border with Rajasthan is the first stop for them. At present, about 100 persons from Bhilwara district in Rajasthan can be seen selling ice-cream at various places here.

Mr Jagdish Kumar of Paloura village, in Bhilwara has been coming to Bathinda for the past three summers. He owns 25 bighas but the drought has rendered it barren. With help from one of his relatives, he reached Bathinda to earn for his family. After selling ice-cream for a few months, he has earned enough to run his life smoothly.

Mr Raju of Gangapur village says he owns 20 bighas in his village. But due to poverty and unemployment he had to leave his home. Most of the money he earns he sends home for the education of his children.

Most of them have an agricultural background and they come in groups and stay together on rent. By 11 a.m. they finish preparing ice-cream and sell them from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.

On asking why they did not take up the same business in their native place, they said people there did not have enough money. They did not like to spend on ice-cream. Comparatively, Punjab was a rich state and people did not mind spending on ice-cream, they said.

In a day, they used to earn about Rs 150-Rs 200 earlier but this year their profits have been affected as more and more people were coming from other districts of Rajasthan.

Due to competition, they have been trying to improve the quality of ice-cream. All this has proved a boon for residents as they get delicious ice-cream at genuine rates in every nook and corner of the city.