Migration from Odisha to Kerala a win-win situation for both states: Experts

BHUBANESWAR: Rudra Harijan of Kanasukuli village in Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi district was unsure about what the future held for him when he boarded a train from Rayagada to Thrissur in Kerala in search of a job. All he had with him was a certificate that said he had passed Plus II.
He moved around Thrissur and made a few inquiries for a job in mid-range hotels.He showed his certificate in several places and finally found a waiter’s job. His journey of struggle and eventual success had begun.
Harijan, who would lend a hand to paddy cultivation in his village, felt that he had finally landed in a place where he could earn and send money back home.
“I was initially paid Rs 6,500 a month by the hotel. I sent a portion of it to my family. I sustained myself with two meals provided by the hotels. I saved the rest of the money to pursue higher education,” he said. Once Harijan returned from Kerala in 2013, he secured admission in an engineering college in Jeypore to do a B Tech in civil engineering. Now he is an engineer and works for a private company.
Harijan is not alone in his quest for success down south. There are many youths like him who are supporting their families by working in Kerala. The state’s Ernakulam and Thrissur districts are like home away from home for the youths of Kalahandi. They work in bars, restaurants, construction sites, tyre companies and other sectors that require semi-skilled labour.
Liby Johnson, the executive director of NGO Gram Vikas, which conducted research on Kalahandi’s migrants, said Guruvayoor, Chalakudy and Thrissur town in Thrissur district and Angamaly and Kochi in Ernakulam districts are the places where migrants from Thuamul Rampur are concentrated in.
The other places where youths from Kalahandi work as masons and brick kiln workers are Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Mumbai.
“Most migrants are men who predominantly work in the hotels and restaurants in Kerala. Female migrants, although fewer in number, work in the garment industries in Bengaluru. According to the migrants, work in the hospitality sector does not involve heavy physical labour and the timings are flexible. Seasonal migrants mainly prefer Tamil Nadu and Telangana,” said Johnson.
The case of Sushant Majhi of Tentulipada village in Kalahandi is a bit different from Harijan’s. Majhi went to Kerala to earn money and save it to build a house back home in his village. “Within a short span, I could increase my monthly income from Rs 4,000 to Rs 23,000. I built a house and got my ailing father treated,” he said.
Benoy Peter, executive director of the Kerala-based Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development, which did the study in collaboration with Gram Vikas, said most migrants lived in Kerala towns throughout the year. “They (migrants) go back home for short holidays, during festivals. After working for some years, they return with good money to shape their future in the village,” said Peter.
He further said migration was a win-win situation for both Kerala and Kalahandi. “While migrants serve as the backbone of the Kerala economy, the lot of their families in the villages improve. However, it also has disadvantages. As the youths remain absent for months, their elderly parents lack attention. This needs to be addressed at the local level,” he observed.
Researchers feel that Thuamul Rampur in Kalahandi is cut off from the rest of the state. “The poor mobile and telecommunication network results in parents not being able to connect to their sons. “The banking facility is also poor,” Peter added.