Bhubaneswar: The state government Wednesday officially admitted that more than 10 lakh migrant workers have returned to Odisha during the pandemic.
In a written response to a query raised by Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja, Labour Minister Sushanta Singh told the Assembly that a total of 10,07,330 migrant workers have returned to the state during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The minister also shared district-wise details of returnee migrant workers. The list claimed that out of the total migrants who returned to the state during the Covid-29 outbreak, Ganjam registered the highest number of returnees. A total of 2,25,602 migrant workers returned to Ganjam during the pandemic.
It was followed by Bolangir which registered 1,08,469 returnees during the critical time while Balasore was ranked
third in terms of returning migrant workers. The northern district saw 72,392 migrant workers returning to their homelands amid the crisis.
On the other side, Nuapada district reported the fourth highest return of migrant workers from outside. Kendrapara was ranked fifth in terms return of 58,737 migrants. Other districts reported lesser returnees than these five regions which had been considered as the prime hot spots of migration.
The minister said that steps have been taken to register the migrant workers at gram panchayat levels in various migrant labour prone districts of the state. Singh also said that in 2016, 2,407 contractors were licensed for the employment of 1,36,447 migrant workers. Last year, data on foreign workers from the state and abroad was collected from the relevant departments.
According to people working in the migration sector, migrations from different parts of Odisha are different in nature. Loknath Mishra, the chief functionary of the NGO-Aruna (Association for Rural Uplift and National Allegiance) at Ganjam, said that for Ganjam migration is a perennial problem and it’s not distressed migration.
“Migration in Ganjam is continuous and traditional and not a case of distressed migration. It happens throughout the year. Around 5 lakh of Ganjam population always remain outside the state mainly in Gujarat. While a majority goes to Gujarat several others also go to Maharashtra, Kerala and other states to earn a living.”
Several other migrants from Odisha are said to head towards Chhattisgarh or Andhra Pradesh for better livelihood options.
