GRFDT

People migrate, where they get more opportunities for their existence and survival. There are pull factors and push factors behind migration. Seasonal labour migration has turned as a common source of income for the poor in rural areas in Bolangir district of Odisha. Most of the people, who migrate, are belong to the most vulnerable groups. They possess very small land or no land without any stable employment in their local area. They engage themselves in brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh. The vulnerable community particularly tribals and the lower caste people are honest, laborious and without any agitation they can work over time with low wage. Therefore, they are preferred by the contractors. The amount they earn in six month is not sufficient for the next six month in a year. In order to maintain the rest of the six months, they don’t have any saving, so they are forced to borrow rupees from the contractors or from money lenders. In order to repay the debt, again they have to migrate. Like this the process of migration continues for the poor labours of Bolangir district. Thus seasonal migration has become a cyclical process for the poor labours. This paper understands the responsible factors which are forcing them to migrate and what the challenges they are facing at work place. The present paper is based on empirical study, conducted in Belapara block of Bolangir district of Odisha which is one of the highly migration-prone areas.