Caste census to reveal info on Gulf migrations in Karimnagar

Though estimates suggest that about 15 lakh people from Telangana migrated to various Gulf countries in the search of employment, neither the government nor any other organization working on migrant labourers have exact statistics on Gulf migrations.

Karimnagar: The exact number of people who migrated to various Gulf countries is likely to be known through the ongoing caste census.

Though estimates suggest that about 15 lakh people from Telangana migrated to various Gulf countries in the search of employment, neither the government nor any other organization working on migrant labourers have exact statistics on Gulf migrations.

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The Congress government, which recently launched a scheme to provide Rs.5 lakh as ex gratia to people who died in Gulf countries, has incorporated four questions from 48(a) to 48(d) in the caste census questionnaire to get details of this migration.

The questions are: “Has anybody from your family migrated? If other countries, which country? If other states, which state? Reasons for migration?”

However, rumours about removal of names of migrant labourers from ration cards and denial of other government benefits if their names are recorded in the caste census are worrying family members here. Speaking to Telangana Today, Gulf JAC Secretary Swadesh Parikipandla termed the rumours as false and expressed confidence that the exact figure of migrant labourers would be known with the survey.

Emigrants Welfare Forum president and TPCC NRI Cell Convenor Mandha Bheem Reddy emphasized the need to conduct a detailed study to know the age group, caste and other details of people migrating to the Gulf. It was also more important to know where the money, which was being earned by labourers, was being spent. Social scientists thought that people from drought prone areas were migrating to the Gulf. However, there are also migrations from the agriculturally rich villages located on the bank of Godavari river in Metpalli, Korutla and Jagtial. So, it was essential to know why the people migrating to the gulf thought adequate water was available for agriculture, he added.

People from different areas in the district were migrating to different countries. People from Jagtial rural mandal were migrating to Israel, Singapore and Kuwait during the last 25 to 30 years. So, an in-depth survey was essential to know all these things, he opined.