Thief of crops

When a thief steals a crop, he steals the efforts and rewards of the crop owner, which they await with persistence.

Being a resident of a village in Punjab we witness frequent robbery incidents in our area. Long ago such incidents were common in winters when people would get inside their homes early at night.

Now these incidents are common in summer too when people are on the street in the evening. Robbers simply flex with their guns and get anything from the victims.

Last summer was too chaotic for us. No govt or police would intervene for the safety of the citizens. You are on your own for the safety of your assets and your life.

These dacoits would get out as early or as late as possible at night to robe.

These people are not very poor, some are habitual thieves, and some have made it their profession. Their sole excuse is crashing economy/inflation. I don't know who has given them the audacity to come up with lame excuses. The only reason is their greed.

Anyhow, some people got to know those robbers in our village. And they stopped doing it for the sake of avoiding humiliation in front of the whole village.

We thanked God. We would stay awake all night due to the fear even if we knew that they wouldn't dare robe us. My father would keep a gun at night for our safety.

They not only steal money, mobiles, bikes, or other assets but they steal crops too.
Yes, farmers are the classic victims of robbery acts.

These thieves steal fodder crops grown commonly here, to feed their animals.

They don't bother to purchase their animals' meals, I believe their animals would be illegal too.

Our thieves are way too religious that they sacrifice animals on Eid-ul-Azha (a Muslim festival to sacrifice animals in the way of Allah and distribute meat among the poor and needy).

What a great way to sin and please the almighty at the same time, bravo👏👏👏

Moving to a recent incident

A few days ago, my father got a call at 5 am that thieves had stolen your sesame crop of 8kanals. It was massive and the call was from one of the helpers harvesting the crop.

^{Our sesame crop}

The thieves did it at midnight. A guard was supposed to stay at night on our lands until the harvesting of sesame was done. Those helpers knew it too.

But thieves were ahead of us and made their plan a night before our stay there.

It could have been avoided if:

• our lands were near our residency
• if a keeper was appointed to guard the crop.
• if our men had thrashed the dried stalk sooner.
• if our men were proactive and transferred the crop to a safer place once harvested.

Because these incidents happened last year too and victims started bringing sesame stalks to their homes this year.

I suggested this idea to my mother too but such parents are not born yet who take their children's suggestions seriously.

I have also suggested to complain about it to the police, which is a waste of time and resources, I know.

Because we have no suspect, deep down I think those helpers can be behind it. But this is such a shame to think bad about them. My detective nature should retire.

Don't wanna do the dirty laundry here but I feel sad thinking about all the efforts farmers put in for months going in vain. Someone steals in a matter of a few hours.

So unfair

The only time people think about injustice is when it happens to them.

Let me tell you a few things about this crop for anyone who likes sesame seeds.

A sesame crop is to get sesame seeds everyone knows, but this crop is special. It is called the Meat for Poor.

^{Sesame ripening}

• Those who can't eat meat for any reason, like me if they're vegetarian, can get their hands on sesame seeds. They are rich in protein and vitamins, which we otherwise get through meat only.

• They are sown in a hot climate, our was sown in May I guess and in August it is ready. So they get ready in about 4 months. Their plant is visible after 5-6 days of sowing.

• They are sown shallow in the soil rich in fertilizer like Urea. They don't need water much so irritation is done after 15-20 days.

• Ploughing is done after irrigation and rain a couple of times each time.

• when 75% of the crop capsules have ripened, they should be harvested. If you delay it, it will get more dry in the crop and most of the seeds will be shattered and wasted while harvesting.

• Once harvested, their stalks are tied in bundles to let them dry in open air under sunlight. They must be left there for one week

• now is the step of thrashing sesame stalks. The weather should be clear with no chance of rain because seeds are supposed to be kept dry to finally store them.

This is behind the scenes of crop production every farmer goes. Their efforts are ignored at the government level which decides the rates of crops.

They fail to give subsidies for seeds and fertilizers but expect the agricultural sector to obey their orders like a dummy.

This year sesame crop was sown in abundance everywhere, a golden chance for robbers aka کچے کے ڈاکو to polish their skills.

We live in a country where we are on our own to protect ourselves and are responsible for any evil that happens to us. Still, we are expected to obey the law, law of jungle.

I pray no more destruction to anyone's crop anymore. I pray that the Almighty make it sufficient for all of them. Ameen.