DUSHANBE, September 20, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Employees of enterprises and organizations in the northern Sughd province are being sent to cotton plantations for ten or fifteen days to help cotton growers.  The Sughd authorities claim that residents got to cotton plantations voluntarily, while some local residents say otherwise.

Asia-Plus today received a telephone call from the northern city of Qairoqqum.  A man, who introduced himself as Adham, said that employees of practically all enterprises and organizations of Qairoqqum are being sent to pick cotton in Asht district during 10-15 days.

“It is said that the Qairoqqum mayor’s office has determined the number of cotton pickers for each of local enterprises,” said Adham, “If any employee does not go to cotton plantation himself, he must provide “mardikor” (hired hand) in his stead.”

In the meantime, the Qairoqqum authorities say people go to cotton plantations voluntarily.  The Qairoqqum industry department head Fazliddin Oripov, who is responsible for sending Qairoqqum residents to cotton fields, says, “People go to Asht district to help local cotton growers voluntarily.”  According to him, he recently accompanied 305 employees of the joint venture Aprelevka, the Qairoqqum carpet-manufacturing plant, the Leninabad power supply network, the Qairoqqum prospecting expedition, ore refinery, local jamoats (village communities), hospital and high schools to Asht district.

“We have received an appropriate instruction from the regional administration and people go to cotton plantations voluntarily,” Oripov said, noting that cotton pickers receive 50 diram per one kilogram of cotton.

“To-date, 20,851 people have been sent to cotton plantations in the province to help cotton growers pick cotton,” said Ayubjon Ochilov, the deputy head of the Sughd main agriculture directorate.  “Of them, 7,045 people have been sent to Asht district, 2,530 to Zafarobod, 3,615 to Konibodom, 2,196 to Spitamen, 1,798 to Jabborrasoulov and 3,667 to Bobojonghafurov district,” Ochilov noted, “Only Mastchoh district has managed without outside help this year.”

According to him, under the target determined by the regional administration the province is to yield 95,000 tons of raw cotton by November 10, 2011.

Meanwhile, Ms. Sayohat Odinayeva, a specialist with the legal department within the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Tajikistan, says the country’s applicable labor legislation and the Constitution of Tajikistan prohibit use of forced labor.

We will recall that in the northern Sugd province each year, thousands of students temporarily abandon their studies every year to work the cotton harvest.