MGNREGA job card, saviour for migrant labourers
| Date :06-Jul-2020 |
One of the beneficiaries showing his job card.
Our Correspondent :
BAIKUNTHPUR,
MAHATMA Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) turned out to be saviour for the migrant labourers, who have returned to their native villages due to COVID-19 pandemic threats. These migrant labourers are now quite happy, as they have got jobs in their respective villages under the MGNREGA. Returning empty-handed to their homes during the nation-wide lockdown was not less than a challenge for the migrant labourers. Somehow, they managed to reach their homes, but the next problem on their way was employment.
However, MGNREGA has solved all of their problems. Dashrath, who is a native of remote village Janakpur of Koriya district, used to work at a cloth mill in Surat, but with the outbreak of coronavirus and lockdown, he had to come back to his village.
After he reached Janakpur on May 16, he was quarantined at local quarantine centre and his health was properly monitored there. Dashrath informed that while returning to his village, he had never thought that he would be given such a good treatment. He said that after his quarantine period was over, his village secretary asked him about his job and availed him a MGNREGA job card for free. Within two weeks, he was given work at his doorstep. Now, Dashrath is very happy after getting employment under MGNREGA and he has thanked District Administration and State Government for their efforts. Another beneficiary in the series is Sughriv. He had also been working in Surat for the last few years, but he had to return empty-handed to his village during the lockdown.
As per the instructions of State Government, he was first kept in quarantine for 14 days in his Gram Panchayat and soon after completing his quarantine period, he was given MGNREGA job card by the Gram Panchayat. Within a few days of getting job card, Sughriv was given work of pond deepening and he is satisfied with the same. It is worth mentioning here that the District Administration has so far given MGNREGA job cards to over 1,704 labourers and the beneficiaries have also been given employment through the same. Story is similar for many other youths and workers who reached their village during COVID-19 pandemic and were facing problems in want of employment. Zila Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tulika Prajapati said that following the instructions of Koriya Collector S N Rathore, the migrant labourers were provided MGNREGA job cards after completion of quarantine period.
She said that so far, 549 workers under Baikunthpur Zila Panchayat have been provided with job cards and were given employment of 17 days on an average. In total, 191 employment days of work were provided to 211 labourers who returned to various Gram Panchayats of Manendragarh district. CEO further informed that a total of 353 migrant labourers coming to various Gram Panchayats of Khadgawan have been provided employment of 20 days through MGNREGA job cards.
She further said that 290 workers under Bharatpur Zila Panchayat and 301 workers of Sonhat Zila Panchayat are now being provided employment opportunities on average 17 days per person in their own villages. CEO Prajapati told that the list of migrant labourers,who returned from other states, has been prepared and the work has been started by chalking out an action plan to link them with permanent means of livelihood as per the instructions of State Government.