Over 60,000 migrants have returned to villages in Karnataka
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Migrants returning to their native place from Bengaluru ahead of the COVID-19 lockdown.
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K. MURALI KUMAR Over 60,000 people who had migrated elsewhere have returned to their villages across the State in the past few weeks, as per the data collected by the task force established at the gram panchayat level. It has also identified 15,799 persons in rural areas as being in home isolation.
As many as 61,143 migrants have returned to their villages, said a note from the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, which has set up the task force. The task force has been set up by the State to help the rural population, especially those returning to their villages.
India News: NEW DELHI: Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venka.
An issue of lives versus livelihoods
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May 04, 2021 23:31 IST
That the situations faced by India’s migrants are not a matter of concern in policy making is quite apparent
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That the situations faced by India’s migrants are not a matter of concern in policy making is quite apparent
Strict to moderate lockdowns are being imposed again, this time in April 2021, terminating jobs in many an establishment employing large numbers of informal workers.
Of those employed in the informal category, large numbers include migrants who face, like they did in March-April of 2020, a bleak future, with job losses, loss of rented accommodations, a lack of sustainable income and savings to ensure food, transportation back to villages or any other emergency including falling victim to COVID-19.
Representational image. | Xavier Galiana / AFP
Even as tragedies stemming from the current wave of Covid-19 pandemic unfold in Indian cities, less visible ones have started emerging in the villages. Rural India is no longer just a receptor for returning migrants in the current wave, it is already a site where resources and coping mechanisms have been stretched. Accounts coming in from the field point to the times of distress that will quickly turn into a catastrophe of unimaginable scale, if not addressed immediately.
An unfolding crisis
Unlike the previous exodus, returning migrants are now more likely to be not only carrying the disease with them but also a very different attitude towards it. They are returning after months with limited or no income and diminished nutrition. Having gone back to cities only recently, they are also returning with far fewer economic resources.
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The women of Meghalaya’s Dehalbagan village aren’t strangers to hard work. Belonging to a matrilineal society, they might enjoy privileges like inheriting family property, but it is mostly managed by men. As a result, they are often left with limited bargaining power and financial independence. Until two years ago, their only options of livelihood were doing odd jobs, working in factories or collecting betel leaves and wild vegetables.
Cue to the present. Many of the women are the face of the eco-friendly brand ‘GoGaro’ launched by a network of six women, namely the ‘Nangrima SHG’ that make utensils made from locally sourced areca leaves and bring home a stable income. Additionally, over 5 more SHGs provided support in terms of raw materials as well.