By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, April 9, 2018: Odisha government on Monday decided to implement the second phase of the work plan up to the year 2020 with a focus on the prevention of distress migration of labor in the state and providing them alternative livelihood options.

Besides, the government will work on regulation of voluntary migration, education and care of the children of migrating families, rescue models, integration of help desks with various enforcement agencies and departments, application of technology for instant transmission of messages and quicker action.

Inaugurating a Workshop on ‘Safety and Welfare of Inter-State Migrant Workmen in Odisha’ here on Monday, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi asked the stake holders to work out an integrated and intensive work plan for minimizing the distress migration in 30 migration prone GPs of Bolangir and Nuapada districts. Padhi directed the officials to extend the activities to other 11 migration prone districts.

Eleven districts such as Bolangir, Bargarh, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Saharanpur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Khordha have been identified as migration prone districts. A total number of 1309 GPs in these districts have been brought under orbit of the work plan, officials said. .

While appreciating initiatives taken so far by the concerned department to provide care and education of the migrating workmen families, rescuing the workmen caught in difficult conditions and setting up the help desks for migrant Odia workmen in the destination states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Delhi, Padhi directed the department to make the interventions more proactive for prevention of distress migration through integrated work plan and creation of alternative livelihood options in the migration prone districts.

Padhi stressed the need to develop the 2nd phase of the work plan on the basis of the learning, experiences and feedback received during the first phase of action from 2014-15-to 2017-18. Sri Padhi added, “the Liaison Officers at destination states have a very crucial role to play in rescue of the workers in distress”. They should be trained and oriented accordingly.

The state government has set up 206 seasonal hostels for children of migrating families have been set up in different migration prone GPs. Around 9000 students could be retained in these seasonal schools during the current year continuing their education. They otherwise would have turned migrant labourers along with their parents. The institution of seasonal hostel has prevented potential child labor, official claimed.

Meanwhile, tripartite meetings have been held among brick kiln association of Telengana, State officials of Telengana and Odisha for resolution of the issues relating to illegal migration and distress of labor. MOUs have also been signed with Odia Associations in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Madras for proactive collaboration for safety and welfare of the migrant workmen to these states.