KHARIAR: Labour migration from this poverty stricken undivided Kalahandi district has become a part of life for many years now. Unlike other seasonal migration, Bankapur village’s tale is different.
About 110 dalit families of Bankapur have left the village in Khasbahal panchayat of Khariar block of Nuapada district in search of greener pastures across the country for good.
The village wears a deserted look and 30-odd members of 10 families left behind said the dalit families periodically migrated in the last 40 years. In the absence of repair and maintenance, the houses of migrated villagers are crumbling down.
With no land holdings, the dalit families had little option but to leave their village to eke out a living.
The families are now settled in Assam working in tea gardens in Bailadila famed for iron ore deposit, Durg, Bhilai and Raipur in Chattisgarh besides Punjab where they work as agricultural labourers, said the local sarpanch, Dulamani Mahanand.
With the new destinations offering ample livelihood opportunities, they are now leading a decent life far from their village where they had to struggle amidst poverty and hunger for several years.
One dalit Gopal Mahanad managed to bag a government job in Assam, informed Mahanand. He said the State Government should make efforts to bring the migrated families back to their village and rehabilitate them by providing sources of livelihood.