Bolangir: Bolangir is known for high labour migration. Every year, thousands of people migrate to other states in search of work. Most of them work in brick kilns. Sadly, the spread of COVID-19 and the ongoing lockdown has made the lives of migrant labourers miserable.
The district is witnessing massive reverse migration which has become a cause of concern for the administration. When the district has virtually no industry, providing livelihood to such a large number of returnees has been a headache.
The only industry in the district is Bijayananada sugar mill at Deogan, which is lying defunct for seven to eight years.
On the other hand, the agriculture sector may be considered a viable option to engage such a huge number of migrants, but it does not promise a wide scope of jobs since only three per cent of the land in the district has irrigation facility.
According to official reports, 11,500 people have migrated outside the district in the current year. Strangely, the official data about the number of migrated people proved to be wrong after COVID lockdown. Now, about 1.5 lakh people have officially registered to return home.
Of them, about 85,000 have returned in various means of transport.
Most of these people are in home quarantine after their institutional quarantine. Of these returnees, most have little means of livelihood support. They have no scope to earn a living.
It was alleged that the government has not been able to resolve the migration issue over last 20 years with no industrial unit being set up.
At this time, the district administration is considering MGNREGS as a partially viable tool to provide jobs to a large number of migrant workers. But, how far it will be effective in ensuring work for the needy at this crisis time is being questioned.
The administration has laid stress on this rural job scheme. It claimed to have set an all-time record in creating jobs for 1.19 lakh people in a single day, Saturday. 99.23 per cent of the labourers were paid their wages in time.
However, experts and social activists have cast doubt on the tall claims of the scheme. They wanted to know how the work will be created for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers under one scheme.
When asked about it, Collector Arindam Dakua said that migrant workers are being enrolled under MGNREGS.
“Skill mapping of the migrant labourers is being conducted. Thereafter, the state government will take steps to provide jobs to migrants on the basis of their skills,” he added.
PNN