A state-run fish farming scheme in Odisha creates livelihood opportunity in drought-hit villages, brings migrants home Abhijit Mohanty Narahari Jani throws a net to catch fish from his pond at Jhalaguda village in Laxmipur block in Koraput district. Abhijit Mohanty/The Migration Story. BALIGUDA, Odisha:   For years, Nilima Khilla, 33, was the sole worker on the family-owned 2.4 acre farm in an eastern Indian village. She grew millets, paddy and vegetables while her husband Ra

The livelihoods of an estimated 15 lakh farm workers in Punjab – not counting the thousands of migrant labourers in the state - are at risk from the increasing adoption of mechanised seeding of rice Sanskriti Talwar   Slippers of workers outside a rice field. Sanskriti Talwar/The Migration Story SRI MUKTSAR SAHIB , Punjab:  For the past three decades, Gora Singh, a 60-year-old farm labourer, has been transplanting rice during June and July in the fields of landowning farmers

Hostility towards migrant farm workers in Punjab villages raises livelihood and dignity concerns Arshdeep Arshi Migrant workers Sikandar (left) and Sadanand (right) sitting outside the motor room at a farm in Sialba village in Punjab. Arshdeep Arshi/The Migration Story MOHALI, Punjab: Pappu Ram, 48, is the only migrant worker who still lives in Mundho Sangtian village in Mohali district, close to Chandigarh in south-east Punjab. All the other migrant families have left the vi

Bedmakers, construction workers and street vendors landed in Kashmir in larger numbers this year as relentless heatwaves swept across their home states in northern India, disrupting outdoor work Mohammad Aatif Ammad Kanth A newly stitched mattress being readied for sale in Dethu village, Jammu & Kashmir.  Mohammad Aatif Ammad Kanth/The Migration Story ANANTNAG ,  Jammu & Kashmir: Young bedmaker Mohammad Najim spread out his wares — mattresses, quilts, and pillows — under a wa

In the heart of Delhi, the welcoming urban village of Chirag Dilli, has given an address to countless migrants from the northeast, who build their lives around the capital's most favourite snack - the momo. Anuj Behal  The inside view of a house in Chirag Delhi where family members are sitting on the floor, making momos. Tanmoy Bhaduri/The Migration Story NEW DELHI: Kumar Pakhrin’s two-room rented space in Delhi’s Chirag Dilli comes to life at 6 am. The 37-year-old and his wi

Migrant workers in the city’s bars and pubs have become jobless following government action against places serving liquor Varsha Torgalkar Collage credit: Moina Rohira PUNE, Maharashtra: On May 19, the night a drunk 17-year-old driving a Porsche crashed it into a bike and killed two people, Bablu Shaikh’s life went off course.  The 23-year-old migrant, who was employed in the bar section of Planet 9, a restaurant in Bavdhan, lost his job in July after the Pune Municipal Corpo

Agarias, the traditional salt farmers of the Little Rann of Kutch, shift to renewable energy to produce salt, breaking free from decades of debt Suchak Patel Raw salt crystals are produced over a period of eight months in the Little Rann of Kutch. Suchak Patel/The Migration Story LITTLE RANN OF KUTCH, Gujarat:  Home has always been two places for Bharatbhai Shyamjibhai Mandviya, a 45-year-old salt farmer from Gujarat: His kuccha house in the village of Kharaghoda where the jo

Many small traders who migrated to Ayodhya decades ago are returning to their villages having lost their shops to the town’s recent redevelopment Jigyasa Mishra New shops flank the road between Hanumangarhi and Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya in this file picture. Picture credit: Shweta Desai AYODHYA, Uttar Pradesh:  Rakesh Kumar Pandey was barely six years old when his father migrated to Ayodhya from their village about 35 kms away in the early 1990s and rented a small shop to se

As a shift to heirloom seeds and indigenous crops improves agricultural yields in Jhabua district, farmers are less dependent on migration..

Unconscious, frothing in the mouth, holding ice packs: Migrant workers are the biggest casualty of India's worst heatwave

Toiling in soaring temperatures in Bengaluru and across Indian cities, informal workers are losing wages as heat stress takes its toll  Preksha Sharma Janet Orlene Ahmed Sikander Bengaluru, known for its salubrious climate, saw temperatures soaring this summer Bengaluru, Karnataka: Venkatachala, 38, starts his day early, neatly arranging chrysanthemums, jasmines, crossandras and roses on his pushcart. He then heads out into the streets of Bengaluru, calling out to customers

An auto remodelling hub has sprouted in Rajasthan’s arid Gangapur, where mini trucks are converted into ice cream vends-on-wheels, used by m