Bhopal: Drought-hit Sheopur district in northern Madhya Pradesh is witnessing large scale migration of tribal population in search of employment to neighboring districts of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan that bordering the tribal dominated district.
Migration of Saharia tribe is also taking place from neighboring Shivpuri, Morena and Bhind districts. They take up menial jobs at construction sites and farm lands.
Maximum migration has been reported from Karahal and Vijaypur tehsils of Sheopur from where working population in dozens of villages from the two tehsils have already migrated.
Crops have failed in large area of cultivation across Seopur due to scarce rain and there is hardly any labour intensive work in the district that could generate employment and prevent migration, The Times of India reported.
Anil Gupta, state secretary of Ekta Parishad, an NGO working for land rights of tribals said, “Scanty rainfall led to failure of linseed and soya crops leading to joblessness. MGNREGS works have been stopped in the district and tribals have not been able to access forest for collecting minor forest produce… they have no alternate but to migrate with family.”
Pramod Tiwari, working for an NGO for Saharia tribe, said, “This time it is long a range migration… they are not migrating in neighbouring districts. Now they are going as far as Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kanpur among others.”
More than 40 tribal families from Panwada village of Karahal have migrated in two last weeks. “They will work in cotton farm fields in Gujarat. Whole family works in the field and each of them earn about Rs 250 a day,” he said.
District collector, Sehopur Pannalal Solanki said, “There is no migration. Those who have been migrating have gone out for better jobs. He said works under MGNREGA have been started. Many government works are generating employment for Saharias,” he said.