The Missing Daughters of Odisha’s Border Villages

A Visitor to Odisha’s Lulkidihi Village in Sundargarh district, But before the one-nation-one-number plan was implemented in 2015, the now 60-age Victor minz woulders state state borders countless time, from, from this village bordering the village states, two states, two states Rates and better phone networks, just to make anxious calls to new delhi and Mumbai. He was desperately looking for his second daughter, rati (name changed to protect private), then about 16. Two decades sincere rati left for new delhi to work as a hose-hand, mr. Minz Wonders If He Will Ever Know What Befell Her. The Police Complaints Led Nowre.

The Crime in India 2022 Report, Released by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Says 1,120 persons were trafficked from Odisha in 2022, The Country. Thought with 1,816 person rescued, the state also Odisha Ranks Sixth in the Table of Missing Persons, with 41,759 People Still not traced.

Residents of Lulkidihi Village Walk to work in Odisha’s Sundargarh District. , Photo Credit: Biswanjan Rout

In Lulkidihi, many Daughters have gone missing, leaveing ​​parents in despair. Some Families MainTain Contact, Thanks to Mobile Networks, Preventing their Children from decided statistics on the Missing Persons List. Most people here are from Tribal Communities and Speak a Linguistic Mashup of Odia, Hindi, Sadri (The Local Dialect), and Chhattisgarh. Routes to India’s Metro Cities are mapped out even before girls take their class x examinations.

Lulkidihi come under balisankara block. At a conservative estimate by the locals, over 300 girls have traveled from here to work in metros, some under compulsion, many with consent. Arun Kumar Sahoo, a Concerned Youth in Lulkidihi, Says, “Teenage Girls often Come Into Contact With Susrative Agency.

Gadhatoli, An Area in Lulkidihi, Houses 30 Families. A brief survey reviews that 10 girls have Sought Employment as Domestic Helpers in Mumbai and New Delhi. The Dearth of Opportunities and Employment Options in Lulkidihi Prompted Them to seek out livelihoods there.

Rasmita Kujur, 50, is a mother to three radates who have embarked on a journey to Mumbai. After they finished school, they sought out and got placed in homes, the oldest via an agency, and the other two through the oldest. Anticipation fills the air as her Daughters plan to come back on Christmas Eve, A Tradition observed by the Majority of Christian Households Here.

But in the neighbouring Bondega Panchayat, for Nuas and Blasos Lakra, Christmas is Bleak. Mr. Nuas Lakra’s Sibling, Mary (Name Changed) is ‘Lost’ in New Delhi. “There was no mobile phone then. I could not get in touch with my sister. Mary had left when she was 13, with a fellow Villager.

Blasos Lakra (Right), His Son and Daughter at their home at Lulkidihi in Odisha’s Sundargarh District. , Photo Credit: Biswanjan Rout

For Mr. Blasos Lakra, The Pain Stretches Over 16 Years as His Eldest Daughter Disappeared Soon after She Haded in Mumbai. “I went to dadar and chhatrapati shivaji terminal in search of my Daughter. I Never Cold Find Her,” He Says, Heartbroken. She too was 13.

According to the Sundargarh District Police Records, Only Three Missing Cases of Missing Girls Were Reported in 2021, but in 2022, only one case washed. This is in sharp contrast to survey conducted by Pragati, A Non-Government Organization, in 70 Villages in 11 Out of 17 Blocks in Sundargarh, About 14 years ago.

“Our survey revised that 44,707 girls had migrated to various cities for Employment, primarily as domestic helpers. Pragati Associate and Current Member of the Child Welfare Committee in Sundargarh.

Also read |One-third of all 2022 suicides were of daily wage earners, Farmers: NCRB Report

While Government Initiatives Like Subsidized Rice and Other Welfare Measures have reduced this exodus, girls still venture to big sites to work as domestic working works without

A Senior Police Officer in the District Said Organized Networks are operating in the District IDENG WOMEN WOMEN WHO NEED Work, and Lurying them with the Promise of a high pay in the sites. Girls Get ₹ 8,000 to 10,000 per month, and often save for their weddings. The District Police Claimed that they had run a campaign where they have urged people to enjoy District with District Labor Offices Before Heading Out of the District for any work.

Published – December 09, 2023 10:17 pm IST