Read the following descriptions and answer the questions that follow:

Story of Ramu

Ramu is a casual labourer in agriculture in Raipur village. He has a son named Somu who is 10 years old and he is the eldest one who also works as a pali to look after the cattle of the Sarpanch of the village Satpal Singh. Somu is paid Rs. 1000 per year for this work which is decided by the Sarpanch. Ramu has three more sons and two daughters but they can’t work because they are too young to work in a field. His wife Sunhari is also a part time worker who works as a cleaner for the livestock, removing and managing cow dung. There she gets 1/2 liter milk and some cooked food along with vegetables for her daily work. Sometimes she also helps his husband in field work to supplement his earnings. As we all know agriculture is a seasonal activity, so Ramu is employed during times of sowing, transplanting and harvesting but he remains unemployed for about 4 months during the time period of plant consolidation and maturing in a year. He looks for other works during this period to earn the livelihood. Sometimes he gets employed for construction work so somehow he is able to earn his livelihood which can meet his basic needs, to buy essentials and two square meals for his family. But during the days when he is unemployed he had to face a lot of complexities and even sometimes his kids have to sleep without food. Because of low income of the family milk and vegetables is luxury for them. He remains unemployed because of the seasonal nature of work.

1. Why is agriculture a seasonal activity?

2. Why is Ramu unemployed for about four months in a year?

3. What does Ramu do when he is unemployed?

4. What are supplementing income in Ramu’s family?

5. Why does Ramu face difficulty when he is unable to have work?

6. When is Ramu food insecure?

Read the following descriptions and answer the questions that follow:

Story of Ahmad

Ahmad is a rickshaw-puller in Bangalore. He has shifted from Jhumri Taliah along with his 3 brothers, 2 sisters and old parents. He stays in a jhuggi. The survival of all members of his family depends on his daily earnings from pulling rickshaw. However, he does not have a secured employment and his earnings fluctuate every day. During some days he gets enough earning for him to save some amount after buying all his day-to-day necessities. On other days, he barely earns enough to buy his daily necessities. However, fortunately, Ahmad has a yellow card, which is PDS Card for below poverty line people. With this card, Ahmad gets sufficient quantity of wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene oil for his daily use. He gets these essentials at half of the market price. He purchases his monthly stock during a particular day when the ration shop is opened for below poverty people. In this way, Ahmad is able to eke out his survival with less than sufficient earnings for his big family where he is the only earning member.

1. Does Ahmad have a regular income from rickshaw-pulling?

2. How does the yellow card help Ahmad run his family even with small earnings from rickshaw pulling?