VIZIANAGARAM: Contestants for the Bobbili Lok Sabha byelection are facing a strange situation with a majority of farm labour and small farmers migrating to Godavari, Krishna and other districts in search of work.

Though it is not uncommon during kharif season political parties are not able to persuade them to stay back for the byelection.

During panchayat elections contestants paid to and fro fare to the migrant labourers besides food during their stay in the village till the election process was over.

A large numbers of labourers from Therlam, Badangi, Sitanagaram, Merakamudidam Gurla, Garividi, Dattirajeru and several other mandals in the Bobbili parliamentary constituency are migrating everyday.

In Therlam constituency, out of 1,35,704 voters, about 10,000 labourers had already gone in search of jobs leaving behind the infirm members of their families at their homes. The migrant labourers from Burja in Sitanagaram mandal lamented that ``we have no work here.'' Even if there is one they are underpaid. In Godavari districts, they claim, they get Rs.60 per head in addition to 1 kg of rice per day.

Bodduru Dalchetti said they were being paid Rs.25 per day for the same crop cutting work.

About 60 families from Burja left for Bhimavaram in West Godavari district by Rayagada-Vijayawada passenger on Monday evening. The migrants include school-going children.

In view of a large number of migrations every year, the Government had sanctioned the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme for the district but this seemed to have proved ineffective as the administration has failed to provide work to all the applicants.

In Sitanagaram 12,130 labourers were issued job cards but not many were provided jobs.

Tribals too in Salur mandal are deserting their homes. Chodipalli Bisu, sarpanch of Ganjaibhadra and Dippala Maheswara Dora, sarpanch of Sarika, said a kutcha road from Sarika to Kothuru and Mirtivalasa to Kurukutti in the past but the works had not been grounded so far and engaged the labour under NREGP.

In addition to the problem of migration of labour problem contestants are also facing a piquant situation as Ayyappa and Bhavani devotees are also leaving in considerable number on pilgrimage.

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