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Crop loss due to low rainfall this year does not seem to have any major impact on trend of migration of labour force from Ganjam, the most migration-prone district of Odisha. This hints at the uniqueness of migrant workers of Ganjam district. According to social activists working with migrant workers, from this the government and the administration can sense that problem of migration of workers from Ganjam district cannot be sorted out by considering it in relation with agriculture. Migration of workers from Ganjam district is skill related, as most of them work in textile industries or ship-breaking industries in Gujarat, said Kanhu Charan Badatya of Sanakhemundi, a migrant worker-turned-social activist. Data regarding trend is evident from information documented by 30 units of Prabasi Shramik Suchana Kendra (PSSK) established by social organisation ARUNA in different parts of Ganjam district. The PSSK units register migrant labourers at panchayat level and make them aware of HIV infection and AIDS before they migrate. According to ARUNA director Lokanath Mishra, information from PSSK has hinted that despite crop loss due to low rainfall this year, there has been no noticeable increase in number of persons migrating from rural areas of the district. He added that Phailin cyclone of 2013 also did not have any impact on migration of labour force from interior areas of Ganjam district. Devastation caused by the cyclone had only increased migration of labourers from coastal pockets of the district. Following Phailin cyclone, most migrant workers had returned to their homes to provide financial and physical support in restoration work. Tutendra Sahu of Aska area of Ganjam district said that as migrant workers of Ganjam district migrate for skill-based livelihood mostly in textile industry or ship breaking industry that are not available here in Odisha, they do not have any major link with agriculture at their own villages. “Workers who have started migrating in their teens to start working in textile units in Surat cannot feel agriculture to be a major source of their livelihood. We feel providing menial work through MGNREGA or other schemes can never check this type of migration.” Problem of migration of labour force from Ganjam district can only be checked if projects that can utilise their skills are taken up near their homes, said Mr Mishra. Agriculture and MGNREGA-based approach to impede migration can only check a very small chunk of migration in Ganjam district. Till units that utilise the skills of migrant workforce of Ganjam district in textile and ship breaking industries come up in Odisha, these migrant workers would continue to migrate generation after generation, Mr Mishra added.
Keywords
crop, migration, labour force, Odisha, ganjam, social activists, agriculture, skill, ARUNA, panchayat
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