Gulf Dreams Leave Telangana Farmer Debt-Ridden

Gambhiraopet (Rajanna Siricilla): Dreams of making it big in the Gulf have left a farmer, Eraveni Kishen, from Telangana in debt.

Initially, he visited Oman and Saudi Arabia in search of work. After working for six months as a labourer, he returned home as he could not withstand the harsh working conditions there. After a prolonged search for work in his native mandal of Gambhiraopet, he left for Muscat. In Muscat, he worked as a an assistant for a cook for six months. However, the interests on the loans he took for the Gulf travel kept piling-up. Added to that, the cost of running the family became unbearable, Kishen said. So, he shifted base to Saudi Arabia, where he managed to secure a job in sanitation works.

But the harsh working conditions coupled with cramped boarding quarters took a toll on his health. Within 18 months, he was forced to return home due to ill-health. The debts, now, crossed over Rs 3 lakh. "On return, I was left with a mounting debt, a family of three to feed and without a proper house to stay. I took up a job as a farm labourer in Gambhiraopet," Kishen explained.

His wife, Lavanya, rolls beedis to supplement their meagre income and hopes to send their two children - Sai Charan and Vaishnavi - to school.