Congress flags distress migration in Odisha CM’s home district, seeks jobs in Keonjhar

The Odisha Congress on Sunday stepped up its attack on the BJP government, alleging that poverty and joblessness continue to drive large-scale migration from mineral-rich Keonjhar district, including from villages in Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s home region.

The charge came a day after a Congress delegation led by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das visited villages in Keonjhar’s Telkoi block, from where seven of the 14 Odia workers killed in the 21 June ammonia gas leak at a seafood processing unit in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district had migrated.

Addressing a press conference after the visit, Das said the delegation had witnessed “extreme misery” in the tribal-dominated belt and accused the state government of failing to convert the district’s mining wealth into jobs and basic amenities for local communities.

He said large numbers of tribals were still being forced to leave Keonjhar in search of work despite the district being among Odisha’s richest in mineral resources and generating substantial revenue from mining activity.

Das alleged that the Odisha Mining Corporation, which has operated in the region for decades, had not ensured employment for local people. He claimed the district continued to suffer from a lack of roads, drinking water and livelihood opportunities even as outside companies extracted its mineral wealth.

Calling Keonjhar Odisha’s new “hunger zone”, Das said the condition of the Juanga community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, reflected the extent of official neglect. He alleged that migrant workers from Juanga villages were routinely being transported out of the district for work, and said the phenomenon had become so widespread that locals had begun referring to the buses carrying them as the “Dadan Express”.

He further claimed that around 35,000 of the state’s nearly 47,000 Juanga tribals live in Keonjhar and alleged that funds available under the District Mineral Foundation had not been effectively used for their welfare and development.

Drawing a parallel with the deprivation once associated with Kalahandi, Das said he had seen similar conditions during the visit to Telkoi. The only difference, he said, was that the distress was now visible in the home district of the sitting chief minister.

The Congress demanded that the state government take urgent steps to curb distress migration and create sustainable employment in mining-affected areas. It also sought an increase in ex gratia for the families of the 14 Odia workers killed in the Tamil Nadu gas leak from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, arguing that most of the victims were aged between 15 and 25 and had been key earners for their households.

There was no immediate response from the ruling BJP or the Odisha government to the Congress allegations.

With PTI inputs