In January, following the Haryana government’s advertisement for the recruitment of labourers for construction jobs in Israel, hundreds from Jind had queued up at a camp in Rohtak. In February, the government selected 26 youths from the district, which had the most number of registered unemployed people in the state, to be taken to Israel. They are expected to earn around Rs 1 lakh a month. In total, 219 were selected across districts, and 23 have already started working in Israel, including two from Jind. Despite Israel’s war on Gaza and resulting tensions in West Asia, the common refrain during a group video call involving 24 of those selected was: “We cannot stay here, there are no jobs”. When flights to Israel had been affected by rising tensions last month, participants of video call shared their apprehensions. “When will they restart flight operations?” one of them asked, “Why can’t they reroute the flights?” asked another. Sajan Kumar (38), a mason and resident of Jind’s Mohanpur village, said, “Forget permanent jobs, we cannot even get contractual construction work here. If we are lucky, some of us may get 15 days of work, but that would mean next to nothing for family.” He and his 4 brothers had not found work in past 3 months. A labourer in their area gets Rs 500 a day and a supervisor gets Rs 800, translating to Rs 10,000 and Rs 16,000 respectively for 20 days of work. Kumar says that while his 18-member family’s expenses have increased, wages have not. “We get free rations, but it runs out in 10 days. I am the family’s oldest member and I have no choice but to leave,” he said. He has paid Rs 68,000 for his ticket to Israel, which he borrowed from a village money lender. His wife, Sunita (34), his brothers, and their wives have registered for the NREGA, but have got fewer than 10 days of work each. While Haryana has the highest wages under the scheme – at Rs 374 per day – beneficiaries claim lack of enough work days means total amount earned is not significant. Haryana votes on May 25. The Jind Assembly segment falls under Sonipat LS seat. Uchana Kalan and Narwana Assembly segments, also under Jind district, come under Hisar and Sirsa LS seats respectively. Kumar says, “I voted for Modi in 2014 and 2019, but I don’t have the same view anymore. He has not done anything for us over past few years. the Congress is no better. They have ruled Haryana for years, but what have we got?” In August last year, the Haryana government said over 5.4 lakh unemployed youth had registered with various employment exchanges across 22 districts. Jind ranked first with 52,089 registrations. A resident of Jiwanpur in Jind, Amardeep, 26, is a trained mason, but with no jobs, he has taken up driving a tractor trolley, for which he gets Rs 4,000 a day, of which he spends half on fuel. But the job is only available for 15 days in a year. “. It also means no work for the rest of the month,” he says. He is now waiting for a contract with a private firm in Israel. “I was late in uploading documents for the position, but I expect it to come in a week,” he said. He does not blame the ruling BJP for lack of jobs. “The condition is bad everywhere,” he says, adding, “I will vote for Modi ji. Modiji has made Ram Mandir.” On the situation in Israel, he said, “I have talked to workers in Israel, and they say everything is normal.”
