Bhubaneswar, August 28: Over 1.5 lakh Odia labourers have migrated to other states within the last one and half year , according to Odisha's Labour Welfare Minister, Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia.
Responding to a question, Minister Khuntia revealed that the state government rescued 1,639 migrant labourers from foreign countries last year.
He highlighted that out of Odisha's 30 districts, 14 are particularly prone to labour migration. These districts are Bolangir, Bargarh, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Sonepur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Nabarangapur, Khurda, Puri, Kendrapada, and Sundargarh. Each of these districts has a registration center at the panchayat level, where laborers migrating to other states must register their names.
The registration process runs from January 1st to the end of July. This year, 68,576 people have migrated to other states, according to available data.
The minister also mentioned that under the Inter-State Migration Act of 1979, 1,036 contractors have been engaged for labour migration to other states.
Specifically, in Bolangir district, 47,935 labourers have migrated this year, facilitated by 725 contractors. In Jharsuguda, 4,739 labourers have migrated to other states.
In 2023, a total of 81,232 laborers have migrated to other states from Odisha, with 1,231 licensed contractors involved in the process, informed Minister Khuntia.
