BHUBANESWAR: The tragic death of six women workers due to ammonia gas leak in a seafood processing factory at Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu has brought to fore the large-scale migration from rural parts of Odisha that goes unreported.
An official of the Labour and ESI department told TNIE that during verification of the details of the deceased from Keonjhar district, they came to know that the supervisor, through whom they were employed in the plant at Tiruvallur and other places, had failed to inform the district labour office regarding their migration.
“We came to know that at least 18 people including women from Talapada panchayat area had moved to Tamil Nadu for work,” he said. The officer further said though individuals may choose to travel and work anywhere on their own, the agents responsible for taking workers from rural or tribal areas to other places for employment must obtain a licence and inform local authorities about the migration to prevent their exploitation. “This is a statutory order issued by the government to protect the rights and interests of migrant workers,” he said.
The officer further said that in the absence of such detail, they were clueless that such a large number of people from the area were working in the Tiruvallur factory. The lack of information even created difficulties in identifying the deceased and injured persons in the hospitals, he acknowledged.
Sushil, one of the migrant workers, whose wife has been admitted to the hospital, said many villagers, who did not have work, migrated there as the company offered them food, accommodation and a salary in the range of Rs 13,000 to Rs 16,000 per month.
Another migrant worker from Rangamatia said around 15 people from their village and nearby areas had migrated to Tamil Nadu, after one of the supervisors of the plant informed them about the manpower requirement. “As agriculture work is seasonal, many villagers choose to migrate to secure alternative sources of income,” he said.
Bira Juang, father of victim Gumani Juang, said the company was paying her daughter and other workers Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 per month. Gumani used to send Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 per month to her family. Sanatan Juang, who recently returned to his village after working in the seafood processing plant at Tiruvallur, said many Juang tribals from Keonjhar were working in the company for the past seven to eight months. They stayed in house provided to them by the company.