Bidar/Belagavi: The annual migration of farm workers from north Karnataka began weeks earlier than residents say it normally would, with insufficient monsoon rainfall leaving fields uncultivated, newly planted crops wilting and rural labor disappearing. Across districts, including Vijayanagara, Yadgir and Raichur, families are leaving their villages in search of work, extending an established pattern of seasonal migration that local officials and community leaders say has become more widespread this year.
This movement is most evident in Kudliji taluk in Vijayanagara district, where rain-fed agriculture is the main source of livelihood. About 200 families have migrated from Shrikanthapura Thanda, Govindagiri, Bandipasapura Thanda and neighboring villages in search of work, according to Kudliji Tahsildar Netravathi. More than 50 families from Shrikanthapura Thanda left the village alone after crops failed due to lack of rainfall.
Some families traveled during the night in trucks carrying household belongings, utensils and children as they headed towards the Malnad area. About 30% of migrant families have moved to Bengaluru, where men work in construction and women get work as domestic maids. The remaining families traveled to Mysuru, Mandya, Kekeri, Chanariapatna, Mangaluru and Chikkamagaluru, where they worked in sugarcane harvesting and coffee plantations.
Seasonal migration has always been part of life in Kudlegi, an area that frequently suffers from drought. Residents say the difference this year is that many families left before they could start farming. In previous years, farmers would grow crops on their small holdings before looking for temporary work elsewhere. This season, many fields remain uncultivated due to lack of rain, while sesame and sorghum planted after sporadic rains have already dried out.
“The work under MGNREGA lasts only about three months and is not enough to sustain the families for the rest of the year. We have no option but to migrate to Malnad district for work,” agricultural worker Kubra Nayak said.
Venkatesh Naik, a leader of the Banjara community from Shrikanthapura Thanda, said the lack of rainfall has changed the annual migration cycle. “Every year, seasonal migration from various villages and tandis in the taluk is common. However, in previous years, people would first grow crops in their small plots before migrating. This year, due to insufficient rainfall, planting has not even begun in many fields. In places where sesame and sorghum were grown, crops withered due to lack of rain. As a result, people started migrating much earlier than usual,” he said.
He added that more families are expected to leave in the coming days as job opportunities within the villages continue to shrink.
This pattern is seen elsewhere across north Karnataka. In Yadgir district, continuous cloud cover over the past week has resulted in little rain, making farmers uncertain about the crops grown after investing in seeds, fertilizers and cultivation. Cotton, green peas and green chickpeas were planted in anticipation of the monsoon, but rainfall remained well below expectations even after the end of June. Farmer organizations have asked the Karnataka government to declare Yadgir a drought-affected area, compensate farmers for crop losses and provide free or subsidized seeds and fertilizers for re-cultivation. Many families from the region have already migrated to Maharashtra and Bengaluru in search of work.
In neighboring Raichur district, some farmers are trying to delay the decision by keeping crops alive with tanker water. In Kurakunda village in Linsugur taluk, Hussain Saab has spent the past 10 days transporting water to irrigate his three-acre cotton field after the crops began drying out at the germination stage.
He said: “Since there is no rain, we have been supplying water to the cotton crop through tankers for the past ten days. If this situation continues, the crop will dry up completely. Not only us, but many farmers will suffer crop losses and fall into financial distress.”
Kudligi Tahsildar Netravathi said the administration had informed the state government about the migration and sought compensation for crop loss and other eligible relief measures. Although seasonal migration has been common in the region for many years, she said that lack of rainfall and the resulting lack of local employment opportunities have become the main reasons for migration this season.
Migration also changes village life. Many villages across north Karnataka are increasingly occupied by elderly residents and school-bound children while working-age adults are leaving in search of work, said Jagadish N Dasanakiri, a social activist from Yadgir.
“Large-scale seasonal migration continues to affect many villages in several districts and taluks of North Karnataka. This has become a serious social concern, especially as it has a major impact on children’s future and education,” he said.
He urged the government to take the necessary measures to ensure that children from migrant families continue their education without interruption.
In the Belagavi district, community leaders say the seasonal migration that has seen families return home after the summer has increasingly become a permanent relocation. Anasaheb Desai, president of Belagavi taluk in Karnataka’s Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Saini, said recurring drought, limited agricultural labor and low wages had encouraged many residents from Athani, Chikodi, Raibagh, Hokiri and Savadati to settle in neighboring Goa and Maharashtra instead of returning every year.
“There is no water for agriculture here, and agricultural employment opportunities are scarce. Even when work is available, wages are very low. As a result, entire families have migrated,” Desai said. He added that in many villages, only elderly residents remained while younger generations established lives elsewhere.
