At present, a large number of labourers from different parts of Odisha move to outside States either voluntarily or through middlemen to work there for a living.
These people are in utter distress and are unable to get two square meals a day. Failure of agriculture or scarcity of manual jobs at home forces them to migrate outside. At time, a few of them leave home along with family members. These poor labourers have to work under several hardships and exploitation. They lead a low and undignified life and always have to live under stress. The rights to life, dignity and food bear little meaning for them. The women have to face sexual exploitation and harassment by the employers or their people. The Rs1-a-kg rice even has not able to stop the trend of distress migration in some of the most endemic parts of Odisha.
Odisha has vast resources of productive land, water and other natural resources. When these resources are on a fast depletion course, it triggers conflict and gives rise to marginalisation and pauperisation of a vast section of people. Odisha which witnessed a giant leap in industrialisation over a decade and a half had to face a fast depletion of its natural resources. Especially, conflict over land and water has been fierce. Besides, mismanagement of natural resources has created several problems. The situation has come to such a pass that virtually every day people are holding agitation against being deprived of one thing or the other.
As per information, the annual trade of human labouer in the State is worth Rs100 crore. Almost 40lakh of people are involved directly or indirectly in it. About 125 lakh labourers are permanently settling outside the State in a wretched condition. About a lakh of skilled, half skilled and unskilled labourers move out of the State in search of livelihood every year. Most of them are unregistered workers.
The State Government might get accolades from the UN and other international bodies for effectively tackling Phailin. But it has failed to tackle the problem of distress migration created by the cyclone. Many agriculturists, farm labourers, daily wagers and fishermen etc have been rendered paupers and are migrating to other States for earning their bread. Somehow or the other, the Government has failed to rehabilitate these people, who have suffered huge losses due to the
cyclonic storm.
The State must now lay stress on boosting farm sector. This has to be done not just by creating propaganda but by concrete action. Paddy, which is a major crop of the State, needs to be given a thrust. Scientific farming of paddy is the need of the hour. Proper soil culture has to be maintained, while subsequently all measures should be taken to ensure that the crop grows well and the yield is good. At least, no person in the State should be allowed to wallow in malnutrition and hunger.
Similarly, wheat, maize, Ragi, jawar, bajra, millets and various types of pulses should get enough encouragement from the Government. Reorientation of the State’s strategy to agriculture will not only tackle the food crisis effectively, but provide remunerative employment to a large section of people, thereby helping stop distress migration.
In the recent past, the rising prices of potato and onion, apart from other food stuffs, have exposed our helplessness. Odisha has to be self-sufficient in production of many food stuffs and vegetables.
Hence, the Government should not neglect agriculture any more.
Cooperative farming, including a multidisciplinary approach to agriculture, can solve our present problems. We must have to lay stress on renewable management of biological resources.
A majority of migrant labourers are from western and southern Odisha. The economic condition of these people is very weak. Scientific arable management of land resources is required. Besides agriculture, fishery, livestock and animal husbandry also need special focus. The budgetary allocation for agriculture and related activities should be increased.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist)