Lathore/Kantabanji: As the menace of Covid pandemic is yet to subside, thousands of migrant workers who had returned to their native places in Bolangir district after losing livelihood are being lured back to other states.
Middlemen and labour contractors are actively working in parts of the district and transporting the labourers in private vehicles with scant regard to social distancing and other safety norms. Such cases are common in Khaprakhol and Kantabanji areas while the labour department is allegedly looking the other way.
Most parts of Western Odisha are prone to migration of labour but migration during the pandemic has posed threat to their lives. Over 20 people or more are taken in each vehicle for hundreds of kilometers. Locals alleged that though labour trafficking has been on, the labour department has failed to act.
Khaprakhol is a tribal-dominated area where most of the families are marginal farmers and even landless. They eke out their living for six months on farming while they look for work in other states for the remaining six months.
Thousands of migrants have returned home after lockdown in March. Owing to restrictions, they are unable to get work sufficiently. For lack of alternative livelihood back home, they have to suffer.
The central and the state governments had announced assistance for the returnee migrants and promised creation of jobs for them. But all were not lucky enough to get jobs.
According to reports, things did not turn out to be favourable for them with the economy already battered due to lockdowns and shutdowns. Amid relaxation of restrictions, migrant workers from various parts of Bolangir, seemingly upset over job crunch, are in a hurry to look for work. They are easily falling into the traps of middlemen and heading towards other states.
Earlier, they used to get advances from labour contractors, but now in many cases they are being taken without advances.
Labour contractors were earlier taking labourers in trains. At present, they have engaged rented private vehicles to carry them to other states. Labour contractors are visiting villages and taking advantage of the needy workers in rural pockets.
In the last two weeks, Khaprakhol and Lathore police have rescued over 50 labourers, but the labour department is in slumber.
Our correspondent contacted labour inspector Dibyashankar Dharua but he did not respond to phone call.
Various quarters have demanded that the district administration take action to check labour migration.
A report from Kantabanji said 56 bonded labourers, including 23 women and eight children, were about to be transported to Hyderabad from Kantabanji railway station a couple of days ago.
Acting on a tip-off, Kantabanji police conducted a raid at the railway station and rescued the labourers. The labourers belonged to Barpali in Bargarh district, Muribahal in Bolangir, Boden and Sinapali in Nuapada district.
A middleman was taking them to Vishakhapatnam to engage them at a brick kiln. They were to board the Korba-Vishakhapatnam Link Express. The middleman, however, managed to escape, taking advantage of darkness.
According to the rescued labourers, as they had no work due to the pandemic this year, they had no other choice but to leave for Visakhapatnam to look for work.
PNN