BIDAR/BELAGAVI: The annual migration of farm workers from North Karnataka has begun weeks earlier than residents say it ordinarily would, with inadequate monsoon rainfall leaving fields unsown, newly planted crops withering and rural employment disappearing. Across districts including Vijayanagara, Yadgir and Raichur, families are leaving villages in search of work, extending a long established pattern of seasonal migration that local officials and community leaders say has become more widespread this year.
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The movement is most evident in Kudligi taluk of Vijayanagara district, where rain fed farming is the principal a, Govindagiri, Bandebasapura Thanda and neighbouring villages have migrated in search of employment, according to Kudligi Tahsildar Netravathi. More than 50 families from Shrikanthapura Thanda alone have left the village after crops failed because of inadequate rainfall.
Some families travelled overnight in lorries, carrying household belongings, utensils and children as they headed towards the Malnad region. About 30% of the migrant families have moved to Bengaluru, where men are working in construction and women have found employment as domestic workers. The remaining families have travelled to Mysuru, Mandya, Kikkeri, Channarayapatna, Mangaluru and Chikkamagaluru, where they have taken up work in sugarcane harvesting and coffee plantations.
Seasonal migration has long been part of life in Kudligi, a region that frequently experiences drought. Residents say the difference this year is that many families left before they could begin cultivation. In previous years, farmers would sow crops on their small holdings before seeking temporary work elsewhere. This season, many fields remain unsown because the rains failed to arrive, while sesame and sorghum planted after scattered showers have already dried up.
“Employment under MGNREGA lasts only about three months and is insufficient to sustain families for the rest of the year. We have no choice but to migrate to the Malnad region for work,” agricultural labourer Kubera Nayak said.
Venkatesh Naik, a Banjara community leader from Shrikanthapura Thanda, said the rainfall deficit had altered the annual migration cycle. “Every year, seasonal migration from various villages and tandas in the taluk is common. However, in previous years, people would first sow crops in their small landholdings before migrating. This year, due to inadequate rainfall, sowing has not even begun in many fields. In places where sesame and sorghum were sown, the crops have withered because of the lack of rain. As a result, people have begun migrating much earlier than usual.”
He said more families were expected to leave in the coming days as employment opportunities within the villages continued to shrink.
The pattern is emerging elsewhere across North Karnataka. In Yadgir district, persistent cloud cover over the past week has brought little meaningful rainfall, leaving farmers uncertain about crops planted after investing in seeds, fertilisers and cultivation. Cotton, pigeon pea and green gram were sown in anticipation of the monsoon, but rainfall has remained well below expectations even after the end of June. Farmer organisations have asked the Karnataka government to declare Yadgir a drought affected district, compensate farmers for crop losses and provide free or subsidised seeds and fertilisers for re sowing. Several families from the district have already migrated to Maharashtra and Bengaluru in search of work.
In neighbouring Raichur district, some farmers are trying to delay that decision by keeping crops alive with tanker water. In Kurakunda village of Lingsugur taluk, Hussain Saab has spent the past ten days transporting water to irrigate his three acre cotton field after crops began drying at the germination stage.
“As there has been no rainfall, we have been supplying water to our cotton crop through tankers for the past ten days. If this situation continues, the crop will dry up completely. Not just us, but many farmers will suffer crop losses and fall into financial distress,” he said.
Kudligi Tahsildar Netravathi said the administration had informed the state government about the migration and requested crop loss compensation and other eligible relief measures. While seasonal migration has been common in the area for many years, she said inadequate rainfall and the resulting lack of local employment had become the primary reasons for this season’s departures.
The migration is also altering village life. Jagadish N Dasanakere, a social activist from Yadgir, said many villages across North Karnataka are increasingly occupied only by elderly residents and school going children as working age adults leave in search of employment.
“Large scale seasonal migration continues to affect many villages across several districts and taluks in North Karnataka. This has become a serious social concern, particularly because it has a significant impact on the future and education of children,” he said.
He urged the government to take measures to ensure children from migrant families continue their education without interruption.
In Belagavi district, community leaders say seasonal migration that once saw families return home after the summer has increasingly become permanent relocation. Annasaheb Desai, Belagavi taluk president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, said recurring drought, limited agricultural employment and lower wages have encouraged many residents from Athani, Chikkodi, Raybag, Hukkeri and Savadatti to settle in neighbouring Goa and Maharashtra instead of returning each year.
“There is no water for agriculture here, and opportunities for agricultural labour are scarce. Even when work is available, the wages are very low. As a result, entire families have migrated,” Desai said. He added that in many villages, only elderly residents remain while younger generations have established lives elsewhere.
