Creating Employment Opportunities for Returned Migrants in Katihar District

Around one lakh migrant workers returned home to Katihar District—the second highest in Bihar—since the lockdown began. A focused strategy was devised by the district administration to track down those who came back, conduct medical check-ups, and offer livelihood opportunities using local resources. Skill mapping, noting workers’ previous work experience, areas of interest, etc. were done, followed by job counselling, and provision of loans for start-ups through various camps. Some were registered on the National Career Service (NCS) portal. 

Five clusters were identified, and financial support extended through the district innovation fund. Among these initiatives, the Jeevika Yuva Paramarsh Sah Sansaadhan Kendra-a centre for employment- and income-generating activities by counselling the district’s youth and providing resources to support them-is noteworthy.

JYPSSK is an example of how a simple, community-based initiative can turn into a beacon of hope for migrant workers in distress.

The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) or Jeevika, an ambitious programme of the state government, has been relentlessly working in the district towards eradicating poverty in the rural areas by empowering women and creating livelihood opportunities for poor households.

Beginning with capacity building and skill development, Jeevika facilitates self-help groups’ members to opt for different livelihood activities and continues to handhold women and their households to grow financially strong and independent. Jeevika’s different livelihood interventions came in handy during the pandemic to support migrant workers. The initiative is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

It was started under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), to impart skill development and capacity building to aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly women and youth. Run under the guidance of the local cluster-level federation (CLF), JYPSSK was started at Sagar Jeevika Mahila Sankul Stareey Sangh (Sagar Jeevika Women CLF), Abadpur, Barsoi Block, Katihar.

Within the first few months of its commencement, JYPSSK Abadpur proved successful—it served very well to the local youth. Village- and tola- or mohalla-based youth mobilization drives were organized to take this initiative to people’s doorsteps—the effort was named ‘Jeevika Aapke Dwar’.

With the lockdown, all activities were suspended for a while; however, the crisis presented an opportunity to serve poor families with renewed energy. JYPSSK extended its support and supplemented the efforts of other Jeevika initiatives as well—from inclusion of poor households in self-help groups’ (SHG) fold to skill mapping, counselling, capacity building of other cadres, etc.

With a steady stream of migrants making its way back home, the Kendra manned by few cadres, including a Job Resource Person (JRP), started visiting the homes of migrant workers to mobilize them, especially women, to join the SHGs.

This exercise of reaching out to migrant worker households continued at nearby quarantine centres too. The Kendra also started to work on the skill and need assessment of migrant workers. Many households were also provided supplementary loans, after a careful process of need assessment and micro-planning with the support of JYPSSK, to enhance and expand already running micro enterprises.

Intensifying and replicating these activities, seven more JYPSSKs were started in different parts of the district.

Migrant workers at quarantine centres were registered on the Kaushal Panjee portal of the Ministry of Rural Development. Support was provided for accessing online classes initiated by many project implementing agencies (PIAs) of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY) for maintaining regularity, building confidence and motivating under-training or trained or placed youths. JYPSSKs have emerged as a bridge between trainees and PIAs. JYPSSKs’ teams telephonically connected with migrant workers stranded out of state and provided the needful support in applying through the Bihar Corona Sahayata Mobile App to avail of emergency assistance of Rs 1,000.

In different blocks of Katihar, different livelihood clusters with producer groups for goatery, bamboo crafts, jute crafts, protective masks, honey production, mushroom production have been set up. Many migrant workers’ families were provided loans to start different activities such as fishery, piggery, household dairy and agriculture-related works, and running shops.

These immediate steps though JYPSSKs were helpful in providing the much-needed support to families of migrant workers and reviving their confidence levels.

Source : Empowering Migrant Workers through Skill Development and Livelihood Generation