Migration of labourers from western Orissa has doubled in recent times
Sambalpur: An annual two-fold increase in the number of people leaving western Orissa for other states in search of work has sent alarm bells ringing. This demonstrates the myriad welfare schemes and pro-poor push by the government, both at the Centre as well as in the state, have had limited impact.
Bolangir and Nuapada are the hotbeds of migrant workers in the state although the problem is more or less seen in other districts as well. Bolangir recorded a whopping 250 per cent rise in the exodus of people to other states in search of greener pastures.
In 2016-17 financial year, 35,220 migrant workers had left the district for other states through official channel, clocking a steep rise over 13,311 in the preceding year. But, the number goes up many times over if we look at the actual number of people who go through unofficial channels like unlicensed middlemen. The latter was pegged at 1.50 lakh in last fiscal, up from 65,000 in 2015-16. The malaise is spread across whole of Patanagarh subdivision while half of Titilagarh sub-division is also mired in it.
Reports on torture of Oriya migrant workers in other states leading to their deaths abound in media. Bolangir district alone accounted for five official deaths during last fiscal although un-official number is much higher. All of them died in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) figures show a steady rise in the number of complaints on human trafficking in the country. As many as 3,422 complaints were registered in 2010 that went up to 3517 in 2011, 3554 in 2012, 3940 in 2013, 5466 in 2014 and 6877 in 2015.
Total dependence on rain for agriculture, single cropping and failure of state welfare schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme are said to be main reasons for the spurt in migrant exodus, Bolangir district labour officer (DLO) Suresh Chandra Behera, said. People in the district have no work for six months a year, he said.
Nuapada, another major dadan-prone district in the state, recorded an official exodus of 7,600 people in 2016-17 as against 5,500 in the preceding year. The number of people who left through informal channels was 90,000 in 2016-17, up from 50,000 in the preceding fiscal. About 1 lakh people left the district in last fiscal in search of work as against 50,000 in the preceding year, Muktalal Nayak, DLO, Nuapada, said. People from all five blocks of the district migrate to others states for work.
The state government has created task forces in every district comprising the collector, superintendent of police, the district labour officers and NGOs to clamp down on illegal migration of workers.
Its success could be proved by the sharp rise in the number of labour licenses issued by district labour offices, said UK Mahanta, Deputy Labour Commissioner, Sambalpur. Balangir issued 547 labour contractor licenses in last fiscal, up from 171 in 2015-16. The number in Nuapada was 110 licenses in 2016-17 as against 70 in 2015-16.
Despite implementation of the National Food Security Act and the much vaunted Rs 1/per kg rice scheme, the problem continues to remain endemic in this region. “All these raving and ranting by the government is hollow. People do not find enough workdays here which forces them to look beyond,” Priyabrat Meher, a retired academician, said. Erratic rain, raising debts and under-performance of state-sponsored anti-poverty programmes make the region a breeding ground for migrant workers.
Sisir Mishra, OP
