COVID-19 induced Lockdown – How is the Hinterland Coping?

The study covers 2 districts in Assam (149 households), 4 in Bihar (326 households), 4 in Chhattisgarh (535 households), 1 in Gujarat (104 households), 10 in Jharkhand (1,193 households), 2 in Karnataka (102 households), 2 in Maharashtra (126 households), 10 in MP (1,344 households), 6 in Odisha (540 households), 1 in Rajasthan (154 households), 2 in Uttar Pradesh (156 households) and 3 in West Bengal (433 households).

Nearly 37 per cent of the households reported having pregnant women, lactating mothers or children below the age of 6.

About 28 per cent of the households reported having senior citizens, persons with disabilities or bedridden patients.

The study found that 62 per cent of the households with ‘returnee migrants’ reported requiring more trips to fetch water, and 77 per cent reported an increase in demand for fuelwood. In households with no ‘returnee migrants’, 44 per cent reported requiring more trips to fetch water, and an increase in demand for fuelwood.

Of the surveyed households, 63 per cent depended on food grains from the previous year’s kharif produce. Around a third of them reported that their kharif stock would only last till the end of May. Only 40 per cent of households depended on their rabi produce for food.

Only 31 per cent of all respondents reported having seeds for the upcoming kharif season; 40 per cent were of the view that they will get crop loans.

Of the surveyed households, 56 per cent engaged in poultry farming. More than 40 per cent of them reported a reduction in sales.

Nearly 68 per cent of surveyed households reported reduced items in each meal, 50 per cent reported a reduced number of meals and 84 per cent reported having received food items through the public distribution system (PDS).

About 29 per cent of households reported that it was possible that their children would drop out of schools.

Of the surveyed households, 16 per cent reported borrowing from money lenders, 22 per cent reported borrowing from extended family and 14 per cent reported having mortgaged household items.

Around 3 to 5 per cent of respondents reported the sale of productive assets – 3 per cent sold agricultural tools, 6 per cent sold dry cattle, 3 per cent sold in-milk cattle, 5 per cent sold mortgaged land and 3 per cent sold their land.

Focus and Factoids by Archana Shukla.

PARI Library's health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.