BELAGAVI: In all, 5,07,919 senior citizens over 60 years have registered as workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in Belagavi district. Of them, 30,429 have been provided employment in the past six months. The number of registered senior citizen workers has risen by 61,136 compared to last year, reflecting a growing trend of elderly seeking work.
Disturbingly, even those in their 80s are turning to manual labour. In the first half of the 2025-26 fiscal year, 457 elderly aged over 80 were given jobs through the scheme. It provides employment to anyone who seeks it, including those between 61 and 80 years, and in some cases, even those beyond 80 years.
Last year, 4,46,783 senior citizens were registered as labourers across various gram panchayats in the district. This figure has now increased to 5,07,919, comprising 4,94,834 workers aged 61–80 and 13,085 workers over 80 years. In the past two years, the number of senior citizen labourers aged over 80 has increased by 3,000. Gram panchayats assign work based on age and ability under the scheme.
Among taluks, Hukkeri has recorded the highest number of senior citizens registering as labourers, followed by Athani. In Hukkeri, 55,076 in the 60-80 age group and 1,602 in the 80-plus category have registered.
In Athani taluk, 52,664 citizens above 60 and 1,647 citizens above 80 have registered for work. However, the highest number of citizens aged above 80 is found in Belagavi taluk, where 1,778 individuals have registered, but only 62 have been employed so far.
Within Belagavi taluk, Ambewadi Gram Panchayat has the highest number of registered senior citizen labourers at 1,429. Meanwhile, Balvanti Gram Panchayat records the highest number of senior citizens above 80, with 173 registrations.
The data paints a concerning picture of elderly citizens compelled to seek manual work in their later years, and the socio-economic challenges they face in rural Belagavi.