Lack of jobs forcing people of Kurnool dist to migrate

Kurnool : The festive spirit of Sankranti seems to have faded from the lives of the poor. Instead of celebrating the festival with their children and loved ones, many families are forced to migrate in search of livelihood due to financial constraints.

Nearly 70 people from Agasanur, Sathnur and Kosigi mandals, went to Guntur in two Bolero vehicles for work. Without job opportunities in their villages, they said that they couldn’t leave their children hungry during the festival. Hence, decided to take even school-going children along with them to Guntur for labour work.

For the past four to five days, residents from several villages in Kowthalam, Kosigi, Peddakadabur including Mantralayam in Mantralayam constituency locked their houses and migrated along with their families to places like Guntur, Telangana and Karnataka in search of work. Many villagers lamented that this year’s Sankranti festival has turned into a mere dream. Lack of employment opportunities has forced villagers to migrate in large numbers. Despite officials claiming to be creating jobs in villages, the ground reality appears different.

Over the weekend, nearly 2,500 migrant laborers from the undivided Kurnool district left for Guntur to earn a livelihood. From villages like Veerapuram, Singarajupalle, Musalimadugu, Guvvalakuntla, and Kothapalli in Kothapalli mandal, as well as Penumada in Krishnagiri mandal, families packed their belongings, took their children out of school, and went to other places.