Dilemma for migrants: Chhath with family or food to eat

With savings gone and no jobs in their state, migrants have no choice but to leave Bihar
Left with no means of livelihood, Bihar migrants are returning to the states where they either used to work earlier or wherever they get employment | eXPRESS
Left with no means of livelihood, Bihar migrants are returning to the states where they either used to work earlier or wherever they get employment | eXPRESS

MUZAFFARPUR/DARBHANGA/PATNA: “Bihar mein kaa ba (What’s there in Bihar)?” said Sanjay Sahni, 32, borrowing from a parody rap song that has gone viral in the state, as he waited at the Muzaffarpur bus stand with a tattered bag by his side to catch a bus to Delhi. “Ja rahe hain Dilli, wahin mazdoori karenge to kuch paisa aayega aur apne parivaar ka pet palenge (I am going to Delhi to work there and earn some money so that I can feed my family).” 

Asked why he was leaving without voting, Sahni from Ratanpur village in Darbhanga district, said he had got a job in Delhi and did not want to miss the opportunity, especially at time when jobs are hard to come by.

This is the first time Sahni will not vote, but he said had no option. If he stays back, his family would die of hunger. At a time when many other villagers are returning home to celebrate Chhath Puja on November 21, he has left his wife and three children behind. 

Naresh Yadav, 45, of Done village in Darbhanga, a cook, was also in Delhi-bound. “I would have gone after the elections and Chhath,” he said, but his employer has been calling him to rejoin work or he would hire someone else. “If I don’t go, how will I sustain? Earlier, I used to come home every year in October-November to celebrate Diwali and Chhath.” Bihar’s statistics on migration of workers speak a lot about the failed promises of development.

According to the state government, about 22 lakh migrant workers returned home by 1,600 special Shramik trains during the lockdown, with East Champaran district recording the highest figure of 1.53 lakh. The actual numbers are said to be much higher as thousands of workers left jobless overnight, walked and reached home even before the government began the exercise to map the returning migrants. 

So far, the migrants had been mostly living off their savings. With the money now gone, they are desperate to get work anywhere they can. A travel agent in Patna said he had sent over 50,000 migrants to Punjab after the lockdown eased. “Hundreds of migrants are leaving for Delhi, Punjab, Surat and other places due to lack of job opportunities in Bihar,” he said.

Nearly three lakh migrants who had returned to Bihar had been enrolled in the electoral list. But with livelihood being a priority, many are skipping exercising their franchise. Although unemployment is currently the biggest worry, it is not the only problem plaguing Bihar. On health, education and other social and economic development indices, the state has consistently ranked among the bottom few.

According to the Niti Aayog’s Health Index 2019, Bihar was the second-worst among big states scoring poorly on total fertility rate, low birth weight, TB treatment success rate and other parameters. In the School Education Quality Index report for 2019, too, Bihar ranked 17th among the 20 big states. 

The Aayog’s index on social development goals, released early this year, placed Bihar at the bottom. According to the Bihar Economic Survey 2018-19, only 2.2% households had toilets at home in Katihar, 2.4% in Gaya, 2.9% in Araria and 5.2% in Muzaffarpur, some of the districts that saw the highest reverse migration.

Sunil Kumar of Taryani Chapra village in Sheohar district had returned home two-and-a-half years ago from Surat and vowed to never go back. But after the lockdown, it has become extremely difficult for the fabric designer to feed his elderly parents. “The floods have destroyed our fields; I have no option,” said the 23-year-old, who took a loan to book a train ticket to Delhi. 

Vikas Kumar of Muzaffarpur said somewhat cynically that casting his vote would not earn him any money to make ends meet. “I am going back to Delhi,” said the 22-year-old vegetable vendor.Political leaders realise the undercurrent of anger that the massive unemployment has created. “Unemployment and migration are interlinked and it has become the main issue in these elections. Those who had faced unprecedented hardship while returning during the lockdown will not forget the neglect of the government,” said RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari.

The ruling JD-U, though, claims to have done a lot for the migrants. “They got cash, foodgrain and even clothes and utensils at the quarantine centres,” said party spokesperson Ajay Alok.Chief Minister Nitish Kumar blamed the RJD rule from 1990 to 2005 for Bihar’s woes, including unemployment and migration, despite the fact that he has been in power since 2005.  “Our government has checked it (migration) to a great extent and will continue working in future also to stop it completely, if voted to power again,” he claimed at a rally in Bhagalpur on Saturday.

Many of the migrants who are again leaving the state are not buying his claims. “We will not vote. Had this government done something, we would not have to go and work outside the state,” said Ajeet Kumar Rai of Vaishali, a daily wager in Himachal Pradesh. With promises holding out little hope, migration is the only option before the lakhs of youths. The choice is simple: it’s either vote or food.  

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