Palamur labour in search of greener pastures

Most of the houses in villages in the district remain locked as hundreds of daily wage workers migrated to bigger cities in search of livelihood

Mahbubnagar: With no rainfalls, ever-depleting water resources and continuous failure of crops due to scanty rainfall for the past two years, more than a quarter of the population in the district is left with no other option but to leave their homes and loved ones to migrate to urban areas for work and livelihood.

According to estimates of Labour department in Mahbubnagar, more than 25 per cent of population in the district migrates to bigger cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore for eking out their living. “We do not have the exact data of migrating laborers from the district, but it is estimated that more than 10 lakh people migrate annually to other places in search of work.

This year, the number may slightly increase, because of the measly rains for the past two consecutive years. The agriculture sector has been totally crippled, leaving hundreds of people jobless in villages. Villages surrounding Kollapur, Achempeta, Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool, Narayanpeta, Jadcherla and Mahbubnagar witness large number of people migrating to cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore,” said VR Koteshwara Rao, Assistant Labour Officer, Mahbubnagar district.

This year, due to severe drought, more than half of the houses in villages are locked. “This year drought has not just impacted on the agriculture and allied sector, more than 25 per cent of population in the district migrated to big cities in search of work and livelihood,” said K S Moses, president of DRDSO, an NGO in Jadcherla.

“We have more than 150 families living in our village, but 50 per cent of the houses are locked as most of them have migrated to Mumbai and Hyderabad in search of work. Most of the villagers here have sold out their cattle,” Narasimha, a farmer from Korlakunta village.

Those who migrated are reportedly struggling to settle in the new jobs and new places with their families. A labour couple Bheechya and Maronibai from a village near Dindi in Kalwakurthy had a debt of Rs 2 lakh due to crop failure. Compelled to repay it back, they had to leave their two children aged 5 years and 7 years at their parents’ house in Karnataka to work in cotton fields.

Another labourer, Peekna from Korlakunta village in Pangal mandal, who has migrated to Hyderabad with his family, left his two small children at his in-laws’ house. “We live in a hut near the construction site, and it is not safe to take children along with us. We left them back home in the village with our relatives and older parents,” said Peekna.

Most the children who stay back, the relatives are least bothered to send them to schools, but make them do works. “I left my 7-year-old girl at our relatives’ house, where she has been assigned to take care of small children. I am paid Rs 450 while my wife gets Rs 200 per day. We come to our village during festivals. Once my debts are cleared, I will stay back in the village,” Peekna added.

Meanwhile, District Collector Dr T K Sridevi has directed the district administration to take up all the necessary measures to help the poor villagers. Recently, the Animal Husbandry department sanctioned Rs 11 crore to help protect cattle and livestock in the distinct.