Minku Das
Guwahati, Sept 17, 2020: A Guwahati-based NGO has teamed up with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to impart Skill Development Training of Reversed Migrants in Tribal Development Fund Project Area of Rongjuli Block, at Mariampur, Goalpara.
Some 50 selected trainees and Gaon Burah, and prominent villagers of the Rongjuli Block participated at the Sept 15 Bosco Reach Out program.
The returnee migrant workers in the project area are mostly unskilled labor who work on contractual basis like daily wage earner without any dignity and self confidence which presented them as most vulnerable group in COVID 19 lockdown situation.
“The project initiative will help to reduce the skill gap between the available skills and desired skills while focusing on economic, infrastructure and technical development,” says Executive Director of Bosco Reach Out Father Jayaprakash Anthonimuthu.
The project consists 3 courses – two courses on carpentry and one course on pickle making conducted in one month for a total of 90 trainees comprising 97 percent tribal and 33 percent women.
Goalpara district saw return of about 400 returnee migrant workers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya where they worked in textile, and leather industries, construction and coal industries as unskilled labor in contractual basis. Aged between 23 and 40, they had studies eighth to twelfth grades.
Rongjuli block is well known for its carpentry works. While, pickle making is selected for availability of local fruits and minor fruits in the project implementing area. These local fruits are mainly Amlakhi, Outenga, Bagari, Kordoiitenga, Silikha,letuku, poniol, amora (Assamese name) which are available in each household in their homestead garden.
The project aims to provide employment in the homes of migrant workers who lost their job during the lockdown through bank credit linkage, to promote self employment which can create employment for others and to prevent future migration towards big cities and urban areas.
Rajkumar Y Meitei, District Development Manager, Goalpara explained the concept of skill development and the initiatives of NABARD. He explained that the project can generate employment opportunity in both ways as job seeker and job creator. The migrant labor and prospective employees need to acquire skill and knowledge to gain employability.
Santosh Kumar, Lead Bank Manager, Goalpara district explained the importance of bank credit linkage for skilled trainees to establish their microenterprise with correlating the Prime Minister dream project Atmanirbhar Bharat and go vocal for local which implies self-reliant India’ or ‘self-sufficient India.
S .K. Karmakar, Branch Manager, AGVB, Dhupdhora explained that after their targeted skilled development training, bank will provide credit linkage as per their requirement with expectation of loan repayment