Odiya workers migrate to Amaravati capital

Vijayawada: A majority of the tribal farmers from Rayagada district have migrated to Amaravati in search of work.

They have come from Rayagada and surrounding areas where they used to engage themselves in collecting non-timber forest produce like honey and herbs, apart from the cultivation of pineapples, jackfruits and berries. But, due to the administrative lethargy and unusual downfall in the sales, they have come to Amaravati, where large construction activity has been initiated.

The Dongria Kondhas, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), residing in Muniguda, Bissamcuttack and Kalyansinghpur blocks of Rayagada district, are known for their entrepreneurial qualities and also in constant search for new legible earnings.

Now almost 70 per cent of these tribals have migrated to Amaravati in search of work. The Rayagada passenger, which has introduced those workers to Amaravati, in fact has shown them a new life, with promising earnings.

“In the last six months, more than 50,000 construction workers, along with their families have reached the city of Vijayawada, in search of work in Amaravati,” Shubhendu Pradhan, a group leader of construction workers from Bissamcuttack block said.

A majority of women family members are enga-ged in supplementary works at the construction places, while their men are engaged in the building construction works, according to Pradhan. These tribals have a specialty of encouraging inter-community marriages.

When asked as to why they have chosen Amaravati, one Ashok Pandoi said that they had no other alternative. “We are not getting right price for our produce, as we don’t have direct market linkage,” he added. In fact, these tribals carry their produce to Chatikona and Muniguda railway stations to sell it to agents and middlemen from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra at throwaway rates. “In that way, we came to know about the large scale construction activity taking place in Amaravati.”

The Rayagada passenger, during its 18 hours journey to Vijayawada, used to carry more than 1,200 construction workers on an average per day, a majority of whom are tribals and some of them are non-tribals from Sompeta, Saluru, and Neelakanthapuram areas of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts.

Sharing his views on these migration workers, Economics Professor Dr L.S.N. Prasad analysed this migration has reintroduced the concept of building new economies.