<strong>Balangir Collector urges migrant workers to participate in panchayat polls</strong>

Balangir, Jan 29: Balangir Collector has urged migrant workers to participate in the coming three-tier panchayat elections. Visiting a number of migrant labor-prone villages across the district, he has sensitized the common public regarding their statutory rights. Sources said as many as 7 blocks of the Balangir district is known as the migrant-prone cluster of Odisha. Thousands of people of the locality leave the soil for the neighboring Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana states after the Nuakhai festival, in search of livelihood. However, they return home only on special occasions. According to the government records, over 14,889 people have migrated during this year. On the other hand, the grass-root reality reveals that most of the villages including Belapada, Muribahal, Khaprakhol, Bangomunda, Kantabanji, and Batanagarh are almost empty due to the migration of the villagers. In view of the panchayat elections, the migrated voters will play a vital role. However, the return of every migrant voter amid the surge of Covid is not possible due to economic reasons.  As a result, the contesting candidates will play with limited voters. On the other hand, the migrant workers will be exempted from their voting rights, if they don’t turn up for the rural elections. Taking it into account, Collector Chanchal Rana visited Belapada and Kantabanji area to take stock of the situation. During his visit, he has appealed to the family members of the migrant’s family to recall their heads for the panchayat polls.