Bhubaneswar, July 29: The state government has decided to work out a definite action plan with credit linkage support for migrant workers on the lines of the self-help-group model.
The decision was taken at a meeting of officials, presided by chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi here yesterday.
Padhi advised the labour and employees state insurance (ESI) department to work out an SHG-based action plan in convergence with the Odisha Livelihood Mission for severely-affected migration-prone districts in the first phase. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) will provide the necessary financial assistance for formation and mobilisation of the SHGs at the ground level.
It was further decided that the department would set up help desks at the destination states of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and New Delhi. These help desks will be single point contact for all the migrant labourers, and the labour department will co-ordinate with the destination states to provide necessary assistance to the Odia workers.
Department secretary G. Srinivas said the Odisha government had signed an MoU with Tata Trusts to examine the issue of migration and prepared an action plan for prevention of distress migration in search of employment.
The department has initiated actions such as registration of the potential migrant labours, identification of alternative livelihood options, exploring the possibilities of credit linkage and linking them with various agricultural and horticultural schemes.
Districts such as Bargarh, Balangir, Nuapada and Kalahandi are prone to labour migration. As of now, around 32,718 SHGs have been formed in these districts with a total membership of over 3.66 lakh. It was decided to verify the credibility of these SHGs and form the new ones according to the requirement for carrying forward the action plan designed for the migrant workers. The chief secretary directed the officials to expedite the process, so that the people could avail themselves of the credit facility at the earliest.
Vimsar director
Local people on Saturday turned up in support of the director of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (Vimsar), the government medical college and hospital in Burla, after his residence was attacked last night.
Police suspect some postgraduate students of the institute to be behind the attack. Last night, nearly a hundred students had pelted Vimsar director Aswini Pujahari's residence with stones. They had also threatened to leave the institute at the earliest. After the public got to know about the incident, they came in hundreds and surrounded the local police station demanding action against the culprits. They also staged a roadblock. "It was a well-planned conspiracy by a few professors, doctors and some postgraduate students upset with Pujhari taking steps to bring discipline in the institution," said Pravanjan Mohanty, a local resident.
Pujahari said: "I apprehend that some people are upset after I started imposing discipline in the institution. They might have instigated the mob. I have already lodged an FIR."
However, Pujahari maintained that he would continue with his reform steps. He said: "There is no question of backing out."
Pujahari had shot into limelight after he caught two professors treating patients at a nursing home and at home during official hours. While he had suspended one of them, he desisted from taking action against the other when the latter admitted his mistake and promised not to indulge in private practice during the office hours. Sambalpur SP Sanjeev Arora said: "We will examine the CCTV footage and start our investigation."
