Shillong, Nov 8: Shillong is one of the most popular destinations for migrant workers from within the North East, though South India remains the preferred area to seek out job opportunities.
This data was produced through a survey conducted by Seven Sisters Development Assistance, a Guwahati-based NGO. The survey covered 693 households across 14 administrative blocks in five districts in Assam, two in Meghalaya and one in Tripura.
The migrants (88 percent of whom are men) mostly rely on established networks to secure jobs in other states and poor job opportunities at home mean that there is a constant stream of people seeking work.
These networks can be seen in patterns of movement, with migrants from North Garo Hills often ending up in Tamil Nadu, while two in three migrants from Dhalai in Tripura head to Karnataka.
Four South Indian states accept half of all the migrants. Karnataka is the most popular with 22.7 percent of migrants from the North East heading there, followed by Tamil Nadu (13.8 percent), Kerala (10.1 percent) and Telangana (4.5 percent).
Assam is the most popular destination within the North East, with the regional hub drawing in 22.3 percent of regional migrants, mostly to Guwahati.
Meghalaya attracts 8.7 percent of migrants. This is thought to be centred on Shillong but construction and mining opportunities exist throughout the state for outside workers. Somewhat surprisingly, Delhi only takes in 4.5 percent of North East migrants, at least from the districts surveyed.
About 62 percent of the surveyees belong to Scheduled Tribes, while 95 percent own land but of an insufficient size to make a living from. The lack of jobs at home was cited by 88 percent of respondees, while 91 percent stated that they were pushed to migrate by the shortage of land or need to repay outstanding loans, for example.
Although many of the migrants say they leave home for better living conditions (40 percent), better jobs (36 percent) and/or higher wages (26 percent), actual incomes are not that high as most take on low-paying unskilled jobs.
The median monthly salary is Rs 15,000, with the vast majority (86.5 percent) taking in less than Rs 20,000 per month. Average expenses are Rs 7,000 for food, healthcare and education, leaving little to send home, though 92 percent of migrant families do receive remittances.
Most of the workers are young, with 60 percent being 30 or younger. Seventy percent of them find work through family or friends, with only 6 percent applying directly to an employer.
The survey also suggested that if there were better opportunities at home, more of those surveyed would rather stay in their villages and towns rather than migrate. Around 88 percent said they would have stayed if there were avenues to earn a livelihood at home, suggesting that, for most, moving to another state is more a necessity than a personal choice.
