W’Odisha migrant workers to miss voting in panchayat polls SUNDAY, 22 JANUARY 2012 22:51 SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR HITS: 5 User Rating: / 0

W’Odisha migrant workers to miss voting in panchayat polls
SUNDAY, 22 JANUARY 2012 22:51 SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR HITS: 5
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A large number of people from around ten districts of western Odisha are likely to be deprived of casting their votes in the upcoming panchayat poll as they are out of their native villages and working as daily wage earners in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Mostly these people fall in the SC/ST category. Extremely poor as they are, they migrate to outside States to earn their livelihood. Basically, they are made to do hard labour in the most inhospitable brick kilns of those States for six months or more in a year.

“Due to turmoil in Andhra Pradesh over the Telangana issue, cyclone in Tamil Nadu and continuous raids by police on the labourer contractors, distress migration has slowed down in western Odisha,” says Bhajaram Sahu of Janamukti Anusthan of Bongomunda, who informed that around 40,000 people have already migrated from Balangir to work in the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other distant places.

This year drought has hit the farmers hard. Earlier, these farmers who used to be self-sufficient in meeting their food requirements from production in their farms are purchasing it from open markets now, which indicates their economic vulnerability has increased this year. With no work available, there would be more migration this year, predicts Jatin Patra of NGO Adhikar.

“The situation in neighbouring Nuapda district is also the same. More than 30,000 voters from the district have migrated and maximum number of people migrated from Sinapali. These tribal people went to distance places like Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Mumbai, Raipur and Bhilai as they did not get job under MNREGS projects in their villages,” says Ajit Panda of Khadial Vikash Manch of Khariar.

In Paikmal Sub-Division of Bargarh district, continuous migration of people from Paikmal, Gaiselete and Jharbandh blocks is going to affect the poll process too. According to a recent survey by Samuhik Marudi Pratikar Udyam, Padampur, around 14,000 people of 107villages, including 9,000 voters, have already migrated from the district to outside States in search of jobs, informs Fakira Rout.

About 400 youth from Thuaamul Rampur block migrated to work in rubber plantation areas and different farm houses of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, says chairman of Antodoya Dilip Das.

The Government should streamline the implementation of NREGS and take steps to ensure timely payment of wages to the people which would go a long way in checking migration during the crucial time and help them participate in the election, says Ajit Panda.