HYDERABAD: The officials have identified about 7,200 migrant workers in three mandals of Mulugu —Venkatapuram, Kannaigudam and Wazeedu — who had come to the district for chilli harvest season.
Now that the chilli harvest season has come to an end, these tribals, who are primarily from Chhattisgarh, want to return to their State for Mahua or Ippa Puvvu harvest season.
They are seasonal agricultural labourers, who come to Telangana between February and March to earn up to Rs 20,000 and return to their village in April for Mahua harvest season.
It is learnt that the group of labourers with whom the 12-year-old deceased tribal child had left Mulugu on foot had done so to avoid missing out on the livelihood opportunities back in their hometown.
Given this, the Mulugu district officials have to focus on intensifying vigilance to prevent migrant tribal workers from leaving Telangana.
"The Chhattisgarh tribals have been following this cycle of labour work for years. They work here for 2-3 months from February and leave to collect Mahua flowers in April-May. If they miss a season, they will lose their livelihood in their native place and so, many have been leaving without informing the employers despite the lockdown," informed an official.
Since they arrive here seasonally, the district Labour Department does not have much information on them.
"The main labourers who visit the State work at brick kilns and ginning mills, which function for many months in a year. The agricultural labourers are restricted to the river bank and border areas. As they come and go, it becomes hard to keep a tab on them," admitted an official from the Labour Department.
Experts note that lack of information on these labourers has been the underlying issue and if the extent of their contribution in the rural economy was known and their system of functioning identified, they could be given suitable compensation packages to encourage them to stay.
"Register them as inter-State migrant workers and use funds from the Centre to set up welfare boards and draw more resources to help them," noted MV Foundation's national convenor R Venkat Reddy.
Measures to keep workers safe
The group of labourers with whom the 12-year-old deceased tribal child had left Mulugu on foot had done so to avoid missing out on livelihood opportunities back in their hometown.
Given this, Mulugu district officials must intensify vigilance