Free cell phones to lure Bihari workers

  • 03/10/2008

  • Business Standard (New Delhi)

Press Trust Of India / New Delhi October 03, 2008, 0:59 IST Agriculturists in Punjab seem to be struggling this season to hire migrant farm workers from Bihar and are believed to be using novel ways, like offering free cell phones, to lure them. The lower scale of seasonal migration from Bihar could partially be due to the floods there, yet the woes of the farmers in the grain bowl of the country are being seen in a positive light by officials of the Ministry of Rural Development. Rita Sharma, secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, today said the shortage of migrant workers from Bihar is an indicator of greater availability of jobs in their own state under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).