Promise of 300 days of work under MGNREGA fails to prevent exodus of labourers from Odisha

Over past 10 days, the Balangir police have prevented 500 workers from migrating to other States

Juta Majhi was just a few kilometres away from the Kantabanji railway station in Odisha when the Balangir district police intercepted him last week.

Mr. Majhi, 38, a resident of Badibahal under the Khaprakhol police station in the district, and his family members were planning to board a train to Karnataka and travel without tickets in search of work.

Mr. Majhi was among the 500 workers who were prevented by the Balangir police over the past 10 days from migrating to other States in “inhuman conditions”. As the migration season picks up pace, thousands of workers are being transported by labour agents from districts such as Balangir, Kalahandi, Bargarh and Nuapada in the State.

The Odisha government’s promise of 300 days of assured work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has failed to prevent the exodus of workers from 20 migration-prone blocks.

“I had to spend ₹5 lakh on my elder daughter’s marriage and I borrowed ₹1.5 lakh from labour agents. I have no option but to work in brick kilns in other States to pay back the loan,” Mr. Majhi said.

According to Balangir Superintendent of Police Kusalkar Nitin Dagudu, hundreds of families are ready to leave the State. “We are not preventing them from migrating. We want them to travel in a dignified manner after getting registered with the labour department,” he said.

The Balangir police have set up temporary checkpoints to stop distress migration, but labour agents manage to give the police the slip and send labourers to other States.