A national survey on the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on rural India has revealed the untold miseries rural citizens faced during the lockdown, including mounting debt, rising hunger, complete loss of livelihoods, and inability to access healthcare. Some of the key findings show that more than 68% of rural Indians faced “high” to “very high” monetary difficulty during the lockdown. About 23% of the rural Indians surveyed borrowed money during the lockdown, 8% sold a valuable possession (phone, watch, etc), 7% mortgaged jewellery, and 5% sold or mortgaged land.
78% of the respondents saw their work coming to a “complete standstill” or “a standstill to a large extent” during the lockdown. Skilled workers and manual (unskilled) labourers were the hardest hit. Work shut down completely for 60% of skilled workers and 64% of manual labourers.
The survey, based on face-to-face detailed interviews with 25,300 respondents, was carried out in 179 districts across 20 states and three union territories by Gaon Connection Insights, the data and insights arm of India’s largest rural media platform. The survey was designed, and data analysed by the New Delhi-based Centre for Study of Developing Societies (Lokniti-CSDS).
The findings of the survey throw light on how the rural population, including migrant workers, survived the possibly longest nation-wide lockdown. So far, most of the reportage or findings on the impacts of lockdown are from urban centres. Gaon Connection Survey shifts the focus towards rural India where two in three Indians live.
These survey findings have been put together in the form of a report – The Rural Report – by Gaon Connection. This 200-page report is the first set of national insights documenting the post-COVID-19 impact on rural India. The report is divided into different themes that include impact on farmers, financial stress and debt, livelihoods and MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005), pregnant women’s health, hunger, future plans of rural citizens, etc.
Only 20% respondents said they got work under the MGNREGA during lockdown. Chhattisgarh reported the highest percentage of such households at 70%, followed by Uttarakhand (65%) and Rajasthan (59%). Gujarat and UTs of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh reported the lowest work under MGNREGA at 2% and 4%, respectively.
23% of migrant workers returned home walking during the lockdown. Over 33% migrant workers said they want to go back to the cities to work. 42% households with pregnant women said these women did not get pregnancy check-ups and vaccination during the lockdown. The lowest percentages were in West Bengal (29%) and Odisha (33%).
“Rural India has not been part of the national media narrative in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. This survey offers powerful insights into how rural India dealt with this crisis, and what it plans to do ahead – including questions like, will they return to cities? Will they change spending patterns?” said Neelesh Misra, founder of Gaon Connection.
56% dairy and poultry farmers said they faced difficulty in taking their produce to the buyers; 35% said they did not get the right price for their produce. More than half the farmers managed to harvest their crops in time in the lockdown, but only one-fourth could sell them on time. 71% of ration card-owning households said they received wheat or rice from the government during the lockdown.
71% surveyed households reported a drop in total monthly household income during the lockdown months compared to pre-lockdown months.
The poor were the hardest hit — 75% poor families and 74% lower class households suffered a fall in income during the lockdown. 38% of rural households reported having gone without necessary medicine or medical treatment often or sometimes during the lockdown. In Assam, 87% rural households said they did not receive the required medical treatment followed by 66% in Arunachal Pradesh.
However, 74% respondents in rural India said they were satisfied with the manner in which the government has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 78% respondents said they were also satisfied with the steps taken by their state governments, the survey reported.
“Gaon Connection and the Centre for Study of Developing Societies decided to collaborate and conduct this survey as we wanted to measure the extent of hardships people faced due to lockdown, especially in rural India about which very little was discussed or documented during the lockdown. We wanted the voices of rural people to be heard by the people living in small towns, cities, and especially those who are engaged with policy making,” said Sanjay Kumar, professor at CSDS.