Tragic Toll: 246 Migrant Labourer Deaths Reported in 3 Years |
Bhubaneswar: Labour minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia informed the assembly on Tuesday that 246 migrant labourers died in workplaces outside the state and country in the past three years, between 2022 and end of Nov this year.
The highest 43 deaths was of workers from Ganjam district, followed by 26 from Balangir. Both Ganjam and Balangir are migration-prone districts. Bodies of 199 labourers were brought back to the state, the minister’s written reply revealed. Sambalpur and Kendrapada districts have not reported any deaths of migrant labourers, although the western district of Kalahandi, with 17 deaths, is the third in the casualty list. Govt has paid a compensation of Rs 36,82,704 crore to the kin of deceased migrants.
The minister was replying to a question from Athagarh MLA Ranedra Pratap Swain, who wanted to know about the new regulation on migrant labourers and how it differs from the previous one. He also wanted to learn about the total deaths of migrant workers district-wise in the past three years and the amount of compensation provided.
“For the formulation of new policies under the chairmanship of deputy chief minister and agriculture minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, a task force was constituted in Oct. This year, 883 licences were issued to labour contractors for employing 60,683 labourers,” the minister told the House.
He said 14 districts — Balangir, Bargarh, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Subarnapur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Khurda, Puri, Kendrapada and Sundargarh — are considered as migrant labour-prone districts. Especially in 20 blocks of four western districts, a special migrant labourer assistance package is under implementation. For the villages coming under the 20 blocks, work duration under MGNREGS has been extended from 100 days to 300 days.
Senior BJD leader Pramila Mallik told outside the assembly that nothing has been done to check distress migration. “Now paddy harvesting season is over and migrants are going outside the state for work,” she said.
BJP’s Aska MLA Saroj Padhi countered her and said the govt has formed task Force ro bring about a policy to regulate migration.
Around 2 lakh migrants from Balangir and Subarnapur districts remain go outside for brick-making work for six months. Several deaths of migrants have been reported because of workplace harassment and torture in brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Trapped and bonded migrant families are rescued from workplaces through NGOs every year, while the police and labour department conduct joint enforcement at the villages) to check illegal migration through greedy and unscrupulous labour contractors, sources said.
The highest 43 deaths was of workers from Ganjam district, followed by 26 from Balangir. Both Ganjam and Balangir are migration-prone districts. Bodies of 199 labourers were brought back to the state, the minister’s written reply revealed. Sambalpur and Kendrapada districts have not reported any deaths of migrant labourers, although the western district of Kalahandi, with 17 deaths, is the third in the casualty list. Govt has paid a compensation of Rs 36,82,704 crore to the kin of deceased migrants.
The minister was replying to a question from Athagarh MLA Ranedra Pratap Swain, who wanted to know about the new regulation on migrant labourers and how it differs from the previous one. He also wanted to learn about the total deaths of migrant workers district-wise in the past three years and the amount of compensation provided.
“For the formulation of new policies under the chairmanship of deputy chief minister and agriculture minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, a task force was constituted in Oct. This year, 883 licences were issued to labour contractors for employing 60,683 labourers,” the minister told the House.
He said 14 districts — Balangir, Bargarh, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Subarnapur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Khurda, Puri, Kendrapada and Sundargarh — are considered as migrant labour-prone districts. Especially in 20 blocks of four western districts, a special migrant labourer assistance package is under implementation. For the villages coming under the 20 blocks, work duration under MGNREGS has been extended from 100 days to 300 days.
Senior BJD leader Pramila Mallik told outside the assembly that nothing has been done to check distress migration. “Now paddy harvesting season is over and migrants are going outside the state for work,” she said.
BJP’s Aska MLA Saroj Padhi countered her and said the govt has formed task Force ro bring about a policy to regulate migration.
Around 2 lakh migrants from Balangir and Subarnapur districts remain go outside for brick-making work for six months. Several deaths of migrants have been reported because of workplace harassment and torture in brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Trapped and bonded migrant families are rescued from workplaces through NGOs every year, while the police and labour department conduct joint enforcement at the villages) to check illegal migration through greedy and unscrupulous labour contractors, sources said.
