Migration Patterns and their Socio-Economic Impacts in Birdpur Block of Siddharthnagar District, Uttar Pradesh

Migration has become an important means of livelihood in rural India, especially in border districts where local employment opportunities are extremely limited. Excessive dependence on agriculture, land fragmentation, limited industrial development and lack of basic facilities force rural youth to go out and work. A similar situation is also seen in Birdpur block of Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, where migration has become a major part of the survival strategy of rural families. The presented study is based on primary data collected from 150 respondents in about 50 villages of Birdpur block. The main objective of the study is to analyze the type of migration, destination, age structure of migrants and its economic, social, mental, health and political impacts. Through a questionnaire based survey, an attempt was made to understand how migration is affecting the lives of rural families. The results of the study show that temporary migration is most prevalent in Birdpur block and participation of youth in migration is high. This is an indication that the working age group is not getting adequate employment at the local level. There has been an increase in the income of some families through migration, but no significant and lasting improvement has been seen in the economic condition of most families. A large portion of remittances are spent on food, health, education and loan repayments, limiting opportunities for savings and investment. Negative effects of migration have also come to light at the social and mental level. Problems like distance from family, increased workload on women, difficulty in taking care of children and mental stress were found to be common. Additionally, inadequate access to health services and lack of local political participation are also important challenges associated with migration. Therefore, this study underlines that migration is not only an economic solution, but it also gives rise to many social and human problems. Therefore, to reduce the dependence on migration, there is a great need for employment generation, skill development training and effective implementation of social security schemes at the local level, so that rural youth can get opportunities for respectable and secure livelihood in their own areas.