When the MGR Chennai Central–Bhubaneswar Superfast Express pulled into the Bhubaneswar railway station on the morning of June 27, Sari Juang, along with her two younger sisters, had just cheated death by a mile. The over 1,500-km journey back to their home State followed a deadly ammonia gas leak at their workplace – a seafood processing plant in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur – on June 21.
Sari and her sisters Sasmita and Ratni were witness to the death and destruction caused by the gas leak that tore through the seafood plant, killing their co-workers, mostly women and minor girls from Odisha. Of the 17 migrant workers who died, 14 were from Odisha – all in their teens and from the Juang community – two from Assam, and one from Jharkhand. Some of the workers are still undergoing treatment in hospitals in Tamil Nadu.
According to survivor accounts, the gas leak occurred outside the workers’ residential quarters during night, exposing them to toxic fumes while they were asleep. Following initial investigations, officials said labour contractors specifically hired women and even minor girls from the Juang tribal community – a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) from Odisha – after luring them with the hope of steady income and advance payments to their families.
By the time Sari reached her village, Kodipasa in Banspal block of Keonjhar district, two of her closest friends had already been cremated.
The Juang community lives in scattered hamlets across the hill districts of Keonjhar, Angul and Dhenkanal, and survive on shifting cultivation and forest produce. The women and girls of Kodipasa leaving their home and travelling the length of the country wasn’t usual until recently. “Because of low literacy and non-exposure to the outside world, Juangs are not familiar with migration,” said an official of the Tribal Welfare Department. And yet at least 20 girls – three more girls from the village are on ventilator support in Tamil Nadu hospitals – from one village made the journey to the southern State drawn by the promise of a good income, ₹15,000 per month, for each worker.
‘No other option’
“What choice did we have?” Sari retorted. “We are four sisters and two brothers. Our father died years ago. Whatever little our mother earns is not enough to feed all of us. Beyond subsidised rice [provided under the public distribution system], we have nothing,” she said. The sisters, aged 18 and below, had set out to Tamil Nadu to earn enough money to build a liveable house in Kodipasa.
Keonjhar is also the home district of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, whose government has announced an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh for the families of the deceased. A little away from Sari’s home, Basang Juang, 50, pointed to a newly laid tin roof funded by ₹9,000 sent home by her daughter, Phulamani, 18, who was among the first five Juang girls who died in the gas leak incident.
“My daughter used to travel 10 km every day to Keonjhar town to work as a construction labourer. Even that work was irregular. So, she chose to travel to Tamil Nadu,” said Basang.
Two huts away lived Sujani Juanga, in her mid-teens. Her family includes an alcoholic brother, an intellectually challenged sister, and another sister who returned home after marriage. Their mother earns a living working odd jobs. Before she succumbed to the ammonia leak, Sujani had managed to send home ₹4,000 in two instalments.
The poverty and distinct cultural practices of the Juangs led to their identification as a PVTG. To address their development needs, the Juang Development Agency (JDA) was established at Gonasika in Keonjhar in 1978, with a mandate to serve 5,490 people across 32 habitations. Sari’s village, Kodipasa, is one of these hamlets.
Nearly five decades on, the presence of a dedicated agency, however, seems to have brought little change to the lives of the people. While infrastructure has improved with blacktopped roads reaching Kodipasa over the past decade, the socio-economic conditions of the villagers remain largely unchanged.
The Odisha SC and ST Development Department highlights the establishment of the Kodipasa Ashram School, a residential institution, as early as 1955. Decades later, its impact appears limited. Most boys and girls leave the village soon after appearing for their Class 10 examinations, migrating to other States in search of work.
“The primary source of livelihood for all Juang families in Kodipasa is daily wage labour,” said Saibani Juanga, a village elder. “Only one boy had enrolled in college, only to drop out later. We have no alternative means of livelihood except construction work. It is physically demanding, wages are low and irregular, and migration to other States remains the most practical option for our children,” said Saibani.
According to the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on ‘Functioning of Micro Project Agencies for development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups in the State’, the literacy rate among villages covered under JDA was 38.18%, decades after focused intervention efforts began.
Parents of Champabati Juang who died in ammonia gas leak at Tamil Nadu are seen at their mud house in Rimulighat hamlet village in Odishas Keonjhar district.
| Photo Credit:
Biswaranjan Rout
Fifteen kilometres away, in Rimulighat hamlet of Bansapal block in the district, grief hangs heavy at Sudhar Juang’s home. The ammonia leak claimed the life of his 19-year-old daughter Champabati, the first earning member of her family to travel beyond Odisha. Their one-room mud house shelters six members. Champabati had migrated with the hope of improving her family’s condition and completing the half-constructed concrete house sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural). Her story echoes that of many Juang girls who died, and those who returned.
Sula Juang, 21, a friend of Champabati, said, “There are 35 Juang families in Rimulighat, and their financial and social conditions have been worsening. Once we cross 16, we are expected to take care of ourselves. Where will the money come from for clothes, shoes, or even basic necessities? Families are unable to bear the cost. Leaving home is the only option for us even if the workplaces are unsafe.”
Champabati’s parents said they want to work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which has now been replaced with a new scheme. But there isn’t any work, they said, adding that this is why their daughter was forced to go to Tamil Nadu.
Odisha is home to 64 different tribes, constituting 22% of the State’s population and 9.17% of the country’s tribal population. In terms of the number of both Scheduled Tribe communities and PVTGs, Odisha has the highest number of ethnic groups among all States, said A.B. Ota, former Director of the State-run Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI).
Some fund facts
During the 5th Five-Year Plan (1974-79), the Centre decided to focus on development of vulnerable tribal groups and identified 75 such groups in India. Out of the 75 PVTGs identified in the country, 13 groups belong to Odisha with a population of 2.94 lakh. As many as 20 micro-project agencies or State-level tribal welfare bodies, including three new ones, have been functioning since 1976-77 across 14 districts of the State.
The PVTGs receive grants under Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme under Article 275(1) of the Constitution and Conservation-cum-Development Plan (development of infrastructure, education and health). Besides, regular welfare development programmes of State and Centre are also implemented for the PVTGs.
The Odisha PVTG Empowerment and Livelihood Improvement Programme (OPELIP), an externally aided project with the objective to achieve enhanced living conditions and reduced poverty of PVTGs, was implemented between 2016 and 2024 with an outlay of ₹711.25 crore. Of this, ₹319.29 crore was a loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Apart from this, the Central government came up with the PM-JANMAN Mission with an allocation of ₹24,104 crore for holistic development of PVTGs between 2023-24 and 2025-26. Odisha, with 13 PVTGs, has been a major beneficiary.
Additionally, the ST and SC Development Department has proposed to implement OPELIP-II with an estimated ₹2,422.13 crore from IFAD that includes a loan of ₹734.86 crore. The proposal has, however, not received a final go-ahead from the Finance Department.
According to CAG, during 2019-2024, the 17 micro-project agencies received ₹387.93 crore under different schemes and spent ₹424.62 crore from the available funds of ₹461.44 crore, including an opening balance of ₹60.31 crore and interest of ₹13.20 crore.
“Perhaps, Sari did not have any idea about the massive funds being spent on her and the villagers. Otherwise, she would have demanded her share of the funds and settled down in her village peacefully,” said Pravakar Juang, secretary of Juang Samaj Sangh, Keonjhar.
The CAG observation points out that of the 64,214 households in 1,679 villages under 17 micro-project agencies in PVTG areas, there were no data about ownership of land land vis-a-vis 10,005 households (as of March 2024). Of the 54,209 households for which data existed, 40,829 (75%) had ownership over homestead or agricultural land and the remaining 13,380 (25%) did not have any ownership.
PVTGs have lagged in almost all development indicators. During 2015, their literacy rate was below 30% in four micro-project areas. In Tumba development agency, the literacy rate among women was less than 10%.
The audit agency points out that 11,493 projects with an estimated cost of ₹267.79 crore were approved by respective districts for execution by 15 micro-project agencies under MGNREGS during 2019-2024. Out of the sanctioned works, these agencies had taken up 5,223 works (45%) and incurred expenditure of ₹93.64 crore (35%) as of March 2024.
The unutilised amount of ₹174.15 crore included ₹115.02 crore towards the labour component, which could potentially have created income sources through wages for the benefit of the marginalised communities.
Basang Juang, mother of Phulmani Juang who died in the Tamil Nadu Gas leak incident, is showing a new asbestos roof which was built after her daughter sent ₹9000/- at Kodipasa villagein Keonjhar district of Odisha.
| Photo Credit:
Biswaranjan Rout
Juangs not alone
While the death of 14 Juang girls has drawn attention to the condition of the community, the situation is no better among other PVTGs.
In Andrahal village of Malkangiri district, Nanda Sisa, a young member of the Bonda community, describes how migration has become the new normal for his community youth.
“COVID-19 was a major disruption in the lives of young Bondas who aspired to pursue higher education. Now, once they cross 16 years of age or complete matriculation, Bondas begin looking for places where they can earn quick money,” said Nanda.
While girls board buses to work in prawn processing plants in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, boys take up jobs such as security guards or in the apparel sector. “The impact of this regular migration is visible. At least 10 Bonda girls from Andrahal have married outside the community in other districts. Traditionally, Bondas have lived within the Bonda Hills, maintaining a close-knit community,” he said.
An ‘Evaluation of Bonda Development Agency’, conducted by the SCSTRTI, attributes the rise in migration to the lack of livelihood opportunities. “Many have not received the Record of Rights for land ownership. There has been little monitoring by the Bonda Development Agency officials and no sustained handholding support at the village level,” the report noted. According to the study, 221 Bondas migrated from seven sample villages during 2019-20. Dambaru Sisa, a former MLA from the Chitrakonda Assembly constituency and a member of the Bonda community, said migration has risen in recent years.
“Bondas have broken barriers in education, with some even becoming doctors and engineers. However, their numbers are minuscule. The majority of Bonda children drop out of school and migrate to other States for work,” said Dambaru.
Similar accounts of migration reverberate in Niyamgiri Hills, spread across Rayagada and Kalahandi districts, where Dongria Kandh, a PVTG, resides.
Umi Daniel, an expert on migration, said, “Migration is not bad. However, girls aged below 18 working in hazardous sites and unsafe environments is certainly a cause for concern. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, which mandates registration of workers, is hardly implemented in the State.”
In the aftermath of the Tiruvallur tragedy, Odisha’s Labour Department has filed complaints with eight police stations across Keonjhar seeking a thorough probe into circumstances under which the 14 girls died and demanded action against labour agents, who mediated to take girls and boys to other States. In the police complaints, the department said it has facilitated the safe return of 58 migrant workers. Of the 24 migrant workers from Telkoi block of Keonjhar working at the seafood facility, 11 were minors. According to the FIRs lodged in the case, the minor girls had been hired in the names of adult women whose identification documents were used without their knowledge.
As Sari tries to make sense of the changed circumstances, she is unable to decide whether she will travel to Tamil Nadu for work again. For now, she is in her village. Life, as she knew, has changed but the reasons to leave home have not.
satyasundar.b@thehindu.co.in
