In Malwa, people selling land, taking loan to send kids abroad

Archit Watts

Muktsar, July 4

Just like the Doaba region, the craze to settle abroad has gripped the Malwa region too. A sharp increase has been witnessed in people moving abroad for greener pastures in the past about five years as a number of IELTS coaching centres and visa consultancies have been opened.

Villagers leaving in droves

On an average, one youngster has gone abroad from every fifth house in the village. I have not seen anyone who has sent his child abroad and bought the land again here in the village Baljinder Singh, harike kalan villager

To check the ground reality, this correspondent met some residents of Harike Kalan village, which falls in Gidderbaha, which has a population of nearly 10,000. The villagers said 250-300 youngsters had gone abroad, mainly Canada, on study visa.

Some people have even sold their agricultural land. The number of sellers is more than buyers in the market, thus the land prices have come down sharply.

Baljinder Singh of the village, whose nephew and niece have gone to Canada, said, “Nearly five years ago, the average price of land was Rs 35 lakh per acre, but now it has come down to Rs 20-25 lakh. It is just because a number of people are selling their land to send their children abroad. On an average, one youngster has gone abroad from every fifth house in the village. I have not seen anyone who has sent his child abroad and bought the land again here in the village.”

“The count of those rushing mainly to Canada and Australia is increasing day by day. A number of youngsters are daily travelling to Muktsar to get coaching for the IELTS exam. My nephew and niece went to Canada about three years ago. They both are now permanent residents and minting good money. Sometimes, it hurts that our future generation is not living with us, but at least they are living a good life there…. My daughter is doing MTech at a good institute near Delhi, but I am not sure if she will get a handsome salary,” added Baljinder Singh.

An elderly man, whose son has gone to Canada, said, “I sold nearly half of my land to send my son abroad. He is now working there and making good money. Since a number of people from the village have gone to Canada, they help each other there. Some of them have even started sending money to their parents here.”

A former principal of Government Senior Secondary School in the village, said, “Some people doing simple jobs too are sending their children abroad by taking loans. During my tenure as a principal in the school, I witnessed four-five students moving abroad every year. However, now the scenario is altogether different.”