Homewards and onwards — village youth return home to set up cybercafes and catering businesses
Not so long ago, almost half the youth of Hussainpur village in Nalanda, Bihar migrated to big cities in search of work. The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to head back home where they have now set up small businesses, including digital services to villagers, and are earning better than they ever did before.
Manoj Choudhary 12 May 2023 6:14 AM GMT
After the imposition of COVID-19 lockdown, migrant youth shifted back to their villages and started small businesses. All photos by Manoj Choudhary.
Hussainpur (Nalanda), Bihar
Sonu Saw worked at a two-wheeler spare parts shop at Barh town in Patna district when the nationwide lockdown was announced in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. After struggling to survive in the town, with no work and no food, he managed to return to his village Hussainpur in Nalanda district of Bihar. Hussainpur is located over 80 kilometres from the state capital Patna.
When Saw returned to his village three years ago, he came empty handed and a broken man. Today, the 35-year-old not only runs a profitable catering business of chinese food, but is also planning to set up his own two-wheeler spare parts shop in Hussainpur. The father of a 10-year-old son told Gaon Connection that he had saved enough money from his food business to invest it in another business.
“My birth place gave me shelter when I had lost hope of getting any earning opportunity. I will never leave Hussainpur again to earn money in big cities,” said Saw, who has studied till class nine only.
When the nationwide lockdown was announced in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the youth of Hussainpur in Nalanda district of Bihar, somehow managed to return back home.
“Hussainpur village in Rahui block has over 400 families and almost 50 per cent of its youth migrate to big cities across various states in search of work,” said Sunil Kumar, a retired school teacher in Hussainpur. But the situation took a turn during the lockdown when the youth were forced to return to their village. And three years later, many of them have started their own small businesses in Hussainpur and claim to be earning and saving more money than they did in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Avinash Kumar Choudhary is one such youth who returned to Hussainpur for good. A graduate in BCA (Bachelor’s in Computer Application), Choudhary used to work in Patna when the lockdown was imposed. He returned to Hussainpur and started to use his knowledge of computers and the digital world to help villagers and earn money as well.
When Sonu Saw returned to his village three years ago, he came empty handed and a broken man. Today, the 35-year-old runs a profitable catering business.
Less educated women, farmers and other villagers in Hussainpur used to face problems in doing government related online paperwork. Choudhary started to help them against a nominal charge. Initially, he used to work using his mobile phone but soon he had saved enough money to buy a laptop. He also took a licence for regular money transactions and villagers got better digital facilities at their doorstep.
“Pre-pandemic I used to earn Rs 15,000 a month, but I am not interested in going to Patna or any other city to work. At my village I am saving money as I am living at home with my family,” the 31-year-old told Gaon Connection. “The digital facility has given me an opportunity to earn money in my village which was not possible earlier,” he added.
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Initially, Choudhary used to offer digital services to villagers from a corner at his sister-in-law's beauty parlour shop. “She helped me by providing me space to start my business. With my earnings, I have now constructed my own shop and I am providing multiple digital services and earning far better,” the youth said.
Bhubneshwar Paswan has started an internet cafe in his village Hussainpur.
Sonu Saw also credits his wife for his successful catering business. “During the lockdown, it had become difficult to provide two meals a day to my family. For several months post lockdown, I had no work opportunity. It is then that my wife Gudia Devi advised me to start a catering business in our village itself,” he narrated. “Gudia is an expert in cooking chinese food and I started the food service from our home. Since then I have not looked back and earned money along with saving a bit,” he smiled.
Cyber cafe in Hussainpur
Bhubneshwar Paswan has started an internet cafe in his village Hussainpur. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Paswan used to work as a data operator at a private firm in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. Hailing from Hussainpur, the 34-year-old had been working in different parts of Jharkhand and Bihar after completing Advance Diploma in Computer Application (ADCA) in 2011.
The pandemic forced him to return to his village and that is when he decided to set up a cyber cafe in his village. His cafe has been a big hit as villagers had to go all the way to Asthawan block, around 15 kilometres from Hussainpur, for various online-related works. School and college students, especially girls, had been facing problems while returning home late at night after completing online applications.
Three years after the pandemic, many of Hussainpur residents have started their own small businesses in their villages and claim to be earning and saving more money than they did in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Thanks to Paswan’s cyber cafe, villagers now save their time, money and effort as there is an internet cafe within Hussainpur.
“With the opening of a cafe in Hussainpur, villagers are easily completing online application procedures for different kinds of government and academic works. They don’t need to lose a day’s wage or suspend other domestic works to go to Asthawan. I am glad I can help my own people,” said Paswan.
Sonu Kumar is a diploma holder in civil engineering and has been running a multipurpose shop in Hussainpur for the past two years. Before the pandemic, he used to work as a supervisor in Gurdaspur, Punjab, but is happier to be back home.
“For over two years back I have been running my shop in Hussainpur with high profit. While working as a supervisor at Gurdaspur, I was earning less than the present income,” said Sonu Kumar. He went on to inform that he was working on setting up a spices factory project in his village and is hopeful of providing job opportunities to at least 10 rural youth.
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Village elders are helping the youth to set up their small business in Hussainpur. “We are supporting our young generation to start their own start-ups. In cities, they are unable to save money,” said Naresh Kumar of the village.
“My two sons work in Delhi but they can’t save money. They don’t send money to their families for regular expenditure. Rather, I am taking care of the financial requirements of my daughters-in-law and grandchildren,” the 60-year-old added. “It is better that qualified youth have started earning in their own village and they no longer need to migrate to big cities for better opportunities,” he said.
“We are hopeful that agriculture based units will be started in Hussainpur soon as youth are looking for earning opportunities in rural areas. The government should provide financial and other facilities to encourage them,” said Shrawan Choudhary, a farmer from Hussainpur.
