04 Gunali
04 Gunali
04 Gunali
Little Rann of Kutch, Agariyas, Seasonal Wetland Ecosystem, Salt, Salt Farming
ABSTRACT
Figure 2: Geomorphology of the Rann, Drawn by the author based on field studies
Figure 4: The Lucas Library built by the British in Kharaghoda and the salt factory in Kharaghoda.
have a better foliage cover, they provide critical Kharaghoda and the Agariya
breeding habitat to several species during the Kharaghoda is a pre-colonial salt manufacturing
monsoon. The fringe areas in LRK form the town which was made into a census town in 1977
transitional zone between the slightly elevated (Gupta, 2015). Today the colonial town set up by
mainland and the saline desert area of Rann. The the British, known as the junagaam and navagaam
combine to form the town of Kharaghoda, and the
Agariyas working on the salt works
governed by the British and later nearest town is Patadi. Agariyas working on the salt
Hindustan Salt Limited (H.S.L.), live works governed by the British and later Hindustan
in Kharaghoda, comprising 50% of Salt Limited (H.S.L.), live in Kharaghoda, comprising
the total population in the town. 50% of the total population in the town. According
According to the census report, the to the census report, the town has a very poor sex
town has a very poor sex ratio of ratio of 866, which is a trend noted in other Agariya
866, which is a trend noted in other villages too. Literacy rate is lower than 50%.
Agariya villages too. Literacy rate The Agariyas of LRK constitute mainly of salt
too is lower than 50%. pan workers who collect sub-soil brine for the
manufacture of salt, locating themselves in
diverse vegetation cover of these areas which
peripheral pockets of LRK and migrating just after
provide shelter to many species of animals can
the monsoon to begin a ‘season’ of salt farming.
be attributed to the edge effect. The fringe areas
function like a ‘buffer’ for the wild ass sanctuary,
contain several seasonal water bodies and are also Culture of the Agariya- the Salt Worker
a part of the macro watershed areas of ephemeral The harsh living conditions for more than eight
rivers flowing into the Rann. The draining of months and uncertainty about the success of salt
water from rivers into the Rann is important for production activity has created strong superstitions
maintaining hydrological and nutrient dynamics and customs, as well as addictions among salt-pan
not follow any scientific method to identify the source women have to work for more than 10-12 hours every
of water but instinctively select a place. Many times day, give birth to more number of children and at the
they fail to strike water and are forced to move to same time also face domestic violence.
another location leading to a repetition of the exercise.
According to SAVE (2005), “Women are blamed if the Children of the Agariya
well turned to be barren”. Most Agarias have more than four children.
Some have as many as seven to eight
The Agariya Women children. The children are favored due
The Agaria woman has an important place in the to high labour requirement in the work,
Agaria family (figure 5). A typical salt-pan is taken insecurity about ability to work in old age
care of by a couple, with responsibilities allotted to and high rate of mortality.
the man and the woman, each contributing to the
functioning of the salt-pans at different times of the Child labour and poverty go hand-in-hand.
season. The Agaria women belonging to Maliya, Migrant life and poverty not only deprive them
Halvad and Dhrangadhra region do not work in the of their basic child rights of protection and
salt-pans on regular basis as the salt-pans are situated development, but also push them into becoming
close to the villages, while those Agaria women living free labour for the family to exploit.
in Dasada, Santalpur and Kutch region live most of
their life in remote salt-pans. They are largely illiterate Economic Status
and hardly exposed to the outer world. The Agarias The poor economic status of Agarias has
are largely dependent on the women for ensuring degraded further due to exploitation by
time-lines and responsibilities relating to the salt-pan moneylenders and traders. Although Agarias are
as well as home are fulfilled. To justify their position primary salt producers, the indebtedness and
Figure 7: Salt Pan of 10 acres with the dwelling and salt collected in heaps
other market practices have converted them sanctuary, in spite of the community being
into wage labourers. They receive only 1% of prevalent in the Rann for over a century.
market price for all the physical labour and skill Their lack of education, poor living conditions
they put in salt making, while the traders and and economic backwardness has kept them
others share nearly 99% of market price (SAVE, unaware and ignorant about the proceedings
2005). Under economically bonded situation, and regulations.
labour rights of salt workers are violated. The
condition of resource poorness along with low An Agariya Dwelling
access to information prevents their growth and One Agariya family typically occupies a 10 acre
upliftment. It is also quite common that many salt pan which is their home for eight months of
Agariyas enter the Rann with debt and leave it the year. The salt-pan is nurtured by the family
at the end of the season with added debt, thus through the season. The elements of the salt-pan
continuing the vicious cycle. include the dwelling and a series of shallow
pools that slowly separate water from the brine
The Agariyas are extremely hegemonized to form salt (Figure 7 & 8). The Agariyas carry
people, been subjected to extremely poor necessary belongings and supplies to the Rann
treatment by political and social powers that and build temporary houses using scraps of
they depend upon. They have been completely tarpaulin sheets, GI sheets and jute bags with
ignored when the Little Rann was declared a bamboo framework. The homes upgrade from a
simple plinth and roof into insulated jute walls Geo-locate their dwellings in relation to distance
depending on the season and economic capacity from the Rann Shala.
of the family (figure 9 & 10).
The Architecture of Landscape
Schools Each season the Agariyas migrate and select a
The Rann shalas are the schools for the children piece of land from their past experience and
of the Aagriyas. These are usually discarded tents intuition to set up their homes and build their
given by a well-wisher or contributed by an NGO salt-pans. They then proceed to cultivate salt
(figure 11). The conditions of the schools are and after the season ends, they abandon the
extremely unhabitable and therefore children salt pans, pack their belongings and go back
prefer not to attend school, and instead work to their villages. The monsoon then washes off
on the salt-pan, continuing the vicious cycle of the tamped pans, leaving traces and patterns
illiteracy among the Agariyas. Presently there throughout the Rann. And thus continues the
are 19 schools in the south-eastern Kharaghoda cyclic process of recreating and dismantling the
fringe of the Rann which are local landmarks salt-pans. This reveals the intimate relationship
for the Agariyas to travel through the Rann and between the Agariyas and the landmass.
Transport System- The vans and trucks that tread Summing up, the Little Rann of Kutch is a seasonal
into the Rann have no set route of travel and the salt marsh which for eight months a year is home
network is unplanned and haphazard. to more than 1,00,000 Agariyas who fan out over
the delta and toil in the brutal sun to extract one
There is a serious lack of community spaces for million tonnes of salt a year. The documentation
interaction and social gathering, keeping Agariyas carried out is therefore synonymous to the LRK’s
further away from knowledge and discourse to palimpsest, tracing evidence of former pans as
improve their way of living and keep in touch with they eventually dry out and leave fading scars. This
the world. unique ancient method of salt farming today is a
heritage, providing one of the most basic elements
Legislation- The local Agariya representatives of of our diet- Salt.
each zone meet once in two months, they are often
influenced by or are under the pressure of money In the following section is presented an alalysis
lenders and political pressures. of the existing processes in salt farming and
suggested improvements.
Education:
Rann shalas (schools)- located in the Rann, their
inhuman condition, lack of protection from the
extreme climates and winds creating a negative
impact on the children instead of encouraging
them to study.
Digging Of Well A well, 3m in diameter and upto The traditional method of employing poles
(End October- 1 Week 9m in depth is dug to extract brine. as markers in land can be undertaken
Due to lack of scientific methods by the Govt. After necessary research,
employed in site selection, a lot of partnership which will yield better results
times this results in faliure and loss as well as a landscape with marginal
for agariyas. impact to the environment.
Installation Of Pump A diesel or crude oil pump is Solar pumps can be installed under the
(End October- 1 Week) generally used by the Agariyas for Govt. initiatives already taken up in Gujarat
pumping brine in to the salt pans. to install them for agricultural processes.
This is one of the most expensive These will be placed close to the well
tasks for the Agariyas. markers and would greatly reduce the
exploitation of Agariyas by the diesel
vendors (for which they take loans).
Prepparing Salt Pans and - Clearing plots
Condensors - Loosening soil
October End (1 Week, 150 - Bunding land to form Gamdus
People) (reservoirs)
- Forming Paatas (crystallizers)
- Channels made to connect pump to
Gamdus to paatas
Harvesting And Transporting The final step is for the harvesting Processing units can be located in the
of salt created very labour intensive village itself. This will ensure the control
process. Salt is loaded and carried of salt remains with the Agariya. These
on pans by the villagers.This salt processing units can be shared with
is then transported by trucks to neighbouring villages thus removing the
processing units owned by traders or need for middlemen who exploit Agariyas.
sent by railways to other areas. Each
salt-pan yields about 500-800 tons
of salt.