As 5.22 lakh migrants return to Odisha, civil society sets up help desks in 16 districts

Helpdesk in Malkangiri district

By A Representative
In a mission to restarting livelihood for migrant returnees and other needy families who mostly depend on the informal economy and had to lose their livelihood due to the Covid-19 in Odisha, two state civil society organizations have set up 16 district level help desks in order to link them with various livelihood based schemes and employment opportunities, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The help desks will offer specific livelihood information, food security programmes and other government assistance announced by the state and central government especially during Covid-19.
The Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha (OSM) and the Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, Odisha (MSMO) have launched this initiative as a part of their livelihood campaign entitled “Prabashee Shramaku Na Karibaa Mana, Nija Gaon Re Karibaa Jeebika Arjana” which literally means to promote livelihood at the locality and avoiding distress migration.
Balangir, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Gajapati, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada are among the 11 migration prone districts where the help desks have been set up. As the influx of the migrant returnees is large in numbers, one of the immediate challenges for the returnees will be their livelihood prospects.
Similarly, other districts where help-desks have been set up, are Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Boudh, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundergarh, and Deogarh. In these districts, tribal people are confronting to an extremely difficult time due to Covid-19. The greater chunk of minor forest produce is gathered between April and June every year and the lockdown has stopped them to collect the forest produce for the entire year.

Help desk in Rayagada district

“The help-desk facility is useful for such communities who seek work at this critical time. People can call us, register their issues over telephone or visit our help-desk centres which are located in the district headquarters, to know about schemes and Act that concern them. We are there to help”, says Mukunda Madkami, a Sangathan member of the Shramajeebee Sangathan and an in-charge of the district level help-desk centre, set up in Malkangiri.
“We have so far been successful to mobilise work under MGNREGA for around 60000 households per day in these 16 districts for two weeks consecutively, which we had started on a campaign mode from 1st June. Our Janasathis (grassroots workers) have been visiting villages, interacting with the people and persuading them to benefit from various government schemes which are announced by both the central and the state government during Covid-19”, says Anjan Pradhan, the convener of Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha.
According to the data provided by the Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Odisha on 11th June 11, as many as 5, 22,148 Odias have returned to Odisha since May 3.
“This puts us in a humongous task. With the Odisha government bracing for effective implementation of MGNREGA in the state, the help-desk will serve crucial”, says Ms Shanti Bhoi, state president of Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, Odisha.
Meanwhile, the State government has announced that under the MGNREGA scheme, it will provide 20 crore persondays for migrants in excavating around 1.3 lakh ponds across the State.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog