Rural-urban migration is still the only option for Indian villagers? Dissemination of research findings under Jeevan Nirman program in Raipur

Dissemination of findings of the research report organised as part of the orientation meeting under Jeevan Nirman program of Caritas India in Raipur, Chhattisgarh between 30th of January and 1st of February 2023 revealed the struggling life situations of migrants in India.

The empirical study covered 3843 migrants in seven states, viz. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh unveiled the precarious working and living conditions of the migrants in destination locations. The report found that the highest number of migrants was from Bihar and the second biggest number from Jharkhand. The study urged the state and non-state actors to come together for ensuring safe living and working conditions with dignity for migrant workers at source and destination locations.

The dissemination session was followed by an orientation program for the Jeevan Nirman team from six districts in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Sessions covering project design, MEAL framework, program implementation, and budget. Participatory exercises were also organised to develop action plans for six months.

Following to the orientation sessions, an initial discussion was facilitated by Fr. Jolly, Assistant Executive Director of Caritas India with Fr. Premanand Paickwar, DSSS Director of Jabalpur Dioses, Fr. Selvaraj, DSSS Director of Coimbatore, Fr. David, Director of Salem Dioceses. Dr. John Arokiaraj, the state in charge of Tamil Nadu also participated in the meeting. The discussion explored possible opportunities for working together and strengthening the intervention in the program locations with the support of the Dioceses.

A field visit to Gukhera village, Chhattisgarh was organised as part of the program. The team interacted with the community and Panchayat members which in turn helped to understand the ground realities better. The sharing of villagers also underlined the finding of the study that migration is one of the possible options for them to manage their lean times, especially during the offseason