Migrant laborers who returned to Uttarakhand in the second wave of Covid-19 are unsure of their prospects, with job prospects looking grim.
In the aftermath of the second wave of Covid-19, a thorough report published by the Rural Development and Migration Commission stated that 53,092 migrant laborers returned to Uttarakhand between April 1 and May 5. The Report has been given to the state government.
According to the survey, the largest number of migrant workers returned to Pauri and Almora, the two areas that have seen the most migration since the state’s creation on November 9, 2000.
Between April 1 and May 5, 14,850 migrants returned to Almora, with 9,473 going to Pauri, 8,087 to Tehri, 4,713 to Champawat, 4,105 to Bageshwar, 3,083 to Chamoli, 2,990 to Nainital, Pithoragarh is 2,450 kilometers away, Rudraprayag is 1,474 kilometers away, Pauri is 1,308 kilometers away, Udham Singh Nagar is 349 kilometers away, Dehradun is 152 kilometers away, and Haridwar is 58 kilometers away. A total of 34,360 migrant laborers from Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, and Mumbai returned.
Rudraprayag resident Arun Negi stated, “A huge number of Rudraprayag and Tehri youths worked in Delhi and the NCR region’s hotels and eateries. Customers were hesitant to attend restaurants after the first wave of Covid-19, and before things could return to normal, the virus hit again. Because their earnings had gone to zero, the owners of these businesses had to fire a large proportion of their employees.”
Returnees are unlikely to find a job now, according to Negi, who worked in a restaurant in the National Capital Region.
The Uttarakhand government launched the CM Swarozgar Yojana last year. Around 10,000 people had applied to benefit from the initiative, which aims to assist returnees in finding jobs.
3,904 projects have been approved for these loans, and while 3,265 applications have been refused, 168 are still being processed. “There is a need to provide social and financial support to the returnees,” said SS Negi, vice-chairman of the Rural Development and Migration Commission. On a block and district level, we need to form committees.
The committee has proposed seven industries, including tourism, agriculture, horticulture, and animal husbandry, to help provide job possibilities for these people and stimulate reverse migration.
