Maradu building collapse victims were members of Adivasi and Dalit communities from Odisha

Kerala has obvious attractions for the tribal and Dalit communities from Surada in the form of better wages and assured employment throughout the year.

Two migrants who were crushed to death in a demolition site in Maradu were representatives of the tribal and Dalit communities who have been flocking in large numbers to Kerala from the Surada block of Ganjam district in Odisha for the last two decades.

Half of Surada has forest cover and is dominated by tribals while the other half is dominated largely by settler farmers belonging to general castes. While those among tribals migrated to Kerala, the members from the general castes preferred Surat in Gujarat.

In fact, Ganjam and Surat has been a major migration corridor dating back to the 1970s with the power looms in Surat being dominated by migrant workers from Odisha, especially Ganjam.

Change in scenario
“The scenario started changing when the migrant workers from scheduled tribe and scheduled caste communities from Ganjam started facing casteist discrimination in Surat. It was at this point that Kerala emerged as a model migration destination, especially for Adivasis and Dalits from Surada,” said Liby Johnson, executive director of Odisha-based Gram Vikas, an NGO engaged in rural development.

While Tamil Nadu and Karnataka also attract a section of these migrants, about two-third of the community prefer Kerala.

“They are predominantly engaged in construction and hospitality sectors. Just as Perumbavur has emerged as a hub of migrants from West Bengal, Nettoor (in Maradu municipality where the accident had taken place on Wednesday) has a large population of migrants from Ganjam. The collective remittances from migrant community from Ganjam account for about ?124 crore a year,” said Benoy Peter, executive director of Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development.

Attractive destination
Kerala has obvious attractions for the tribal and Dalit communities from Surada. For one, the wage rate here is at least three times more than what it is back home. Moreover, there is assured job round the year compared to at best 200 job days in Surada.

The migration from Surada to Kerala was, in fact, preceded by the migration from Daringbadi, one of the several blocks dominated by Kondh and Saura tribes, in the neighbouring Kandhamal district abutting the western border of Surada, about 25 years back. So much so, that there are now two daily bus services between Daringbadi and Kerala.

“The presence of the Christian community in Daringbadi influenced the migration of Adivasis and Dalits from Southern Odisha to Kerala. The resultant social networking and social dynamics meant that migration gradually spread to the adjacent Surada,” said Mr. Johnson.

Courtesy : The hindu

Note: This news piece was originally published in thehindu.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights .