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Migrant labour contributing to Punjab's prosperity | Rapid urbanisation and industrialization in the 21st century has propelled a massive rural urban migration and labour mobility, and Punjab, which is among the fastest growing economies, has become an epicentre for the migrants looking for better job prospects. The labourers come from different
parts of the country, including Bihar , Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh being
the prominent ones. And, in Punjab , they find jobs in industries, construction
and farms to have a better livelihood than in their native states. Amar Singh,
a farmer in Hamra village near Ludhiana whose sons have settled abroad, has employed
4 labourers from Bihar since 2001, to look after 10 acres of his farmland. "From
almost every village 60-70 per cent of the Punjabi youth have migrated to Canada
and the U.S. resulting in the loss to farming. If workers from Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh do not come here, the work in our farms will come to a halt. We are dependent
on migrant labour and 60-70 per cent of labour is from Bihar ," Singh said. According
to estimates, there are more than 40 lakh migrants in Punjab, and Ludhiana , the
state's industrial hub, is home to around 20 lakh migrants who work in the textile,
knitting and spare parts industry. For close to five decades, migrants have been
coming to work in Punjab 's fields and industry. "Many people from Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar don't just work as labourers in Punjab ; they have established their
own factories. I am the resident of Ludhiana and if I talk about this city, there
are many areas dominated by migrants," said D. S. Chawla, President of United
Cycle and Parts Manufacturing Association. "The clothes and food sold there is
from their region. I believe, now in Punjab there is not a much of difference
between a Punjabi and a migrant. Frankly speaking, we can't survive without them
and they can't survive without us," he added. Manju Devi and her husband are from
Bihar and have been in Punjab for over eight years. "We are earning on a daily
basis to feed our family and educate our children. We even send money back home.
We are making progress," Devi said. It's a fact - migrant labourers have been
the mainstay of Punjab 's agricultural economy. And as Punjabi youth has been
migrating abroad, the need of migrant labour is paramount for Punjab 's prosperity. |
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