Balangir, May 30: At least 3,000 children, whose parents are migrant labourers, are languishing without attention and care at their villages in the district, says the report of a study recently conducted by the Youth Centre for Development Alternatives.

“As their parents migrate to other states in search of livelihood and with the old grandparents unable to do any work, the children eventually become the breadwinners of the family,” it says.

Balangir is a migration-prone district and lakhs of people migrate from here every year in search of livelihood.

At times, they take their wards with them, while at times, the kids are left at their respective villages.

The report revealed that those children, who did not accompany their parents and were left back at the villages with either their grandparents, relatives or alone, led a life of orphan away from their parents. With no such support mechanism at the villages, the children have to take part in some or other forms of child labour.

With no proper earning at home, the kids are burdened with the task of managing their grandparents. If they are left with some relatives, they perform household chores, ferry cattle, collect fodder and so on.

Health problems are quite common with these children due to parental negligence. With no financial support, they hardly could visit a doctor. They undergo food insecurity, health problems, and emotional estrangement.

According to the report, these children are mostly found in the migration-prone blocks such as Bangomunda, Turekela, Muribahal, Titilagarh, Khaprakhol, Belpara and Patnagarh of the district.

Social activist Srabantika Bhattarchayra, who has been working on the issue of child labour since a long, said issues related to this section of children had not come into the limelight.

“Pathos of these children is unheard yet. This section of children has not come into the focus of the researcher unlike the children who migrate out with workers. While both these types of children are vulnerable to child labour, the former aspect needs to be studied properly to capture their vulnerability,” she said.

Assistant labour commissioner of Balangir Saroj Ranjit said seasonal hostels had been opened in the district to accommodate the children. “We have opened seasonal hostels to accommodate and take care of the migrant labourers’ children, who stay back at the villages. We have opened 99 such hostels in the district,” he said.

Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, who was part of the study team, however, said the number of hostels opened was very less compared to the number of children left out at the villages.

“The district needs at least 300 such hostels to accommodate around 3,000 children, who have stayed back at the villages. At least 20 children are required to open a hostel. The number of hostels opened is too low to accommodate the children,” Mishra said.