Agromet workers battle against climate chaos

In January last year, the government decided to shut down 199 District Agrometeorological Units (DAMUs), which provided farmers with crop and location-specific advice, even though these centres were meant to operate until at least 2026 under a pilot project.

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Despite this, around 130 employees chose to stay on ~ unpaid but unwavering because farmers still depended on them and they had two years of service left. They went to court, secured a stay and kept working, helping farmers navigate worsening weather and rising climate risks.

On 31 March this year, their salaries were finally released following court intervention. But no paycheck can undo a year lived without medicine, without school fees, without peace of mind. One DAMU employee from Rajasthan, requesting anonymity, said he could not pay his daughter’s school fees and had to fold his hands before school authorities, “I kept my head down, but inside, I was breaking,” he said. His voice quivered as he recalled how his family had to cut back on food.

“We stopped buying tomatoes or onions when prices shot up. Sometimes, we skipped vegetables altogether. We survived on lentils and rice. My children would ask, “Why don’t we eat like we used to?” How do I explain that we just do not have the money?” At times, he felt so hopeless he considered switching to a lower-paying job, just to earn something.