Karwar: In the district headquarters Karwar, the employment has become a big challenge due to the absence of industrial units. Since, dependency on agriculture is fast diminishing due to salt water around the city, gravity of the problem is increasing fast.
Everyday hundreds of people from Chittakula, Majali, Ghotegali, Halaga, Ulaga, Kadavad, Shejwad and other villages travel to Goa for just Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 monthly salary. As these villages are on the bank of Kali River, due to backwater and salt water problem agriculture activities have almost stopped. Hundreds of acres of land have turned barren.
Wherever agriculture is adopted, the villagers feel it is economically not profitable due to fluctuating prices of paddy, sugarcane. And they are also facing labour crunch to take agriculture further as a profession. So seeking employment, people travel to neighbouring state and even commute daily between cities. To facilitate them, Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) train is specially run to Goa from here as a large number of youth and middle-aged people work at industrial areas in Vasco and Madagaon. But these people are not happy with their work, most of them work for low wages and they spend hardly a day in a week in their village and rest of the days are spent in their working place and in train.
They are not happy with the government for not setting up any industries and inability to create employment in the district. Parashuram Gongale has completed his BCom and is working in Verna Industrial Area near Vasco since the last eight years. His family lives in Kadavad village near Karwar and he travels to Verna industrial area near Vasco. He says getting a house for rent in Goa is too costly therefore he prefers to travel daily.
To create employment near Karwar, Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board acquired about 40 acres of land near Kadwad about two decades ago, few industries started to function, but most of them closed and only a couple of them are surviving. It is said lack of government’s commitment has resulted in the shutdown of industrial area in Kadwad.
Likewise, a process was started for land acquisition at Mudageri and also more than 250 acres of land was notified to set up industrial area, but that plan also did not proceed further due to lack of government’s interest. Sagar Naik of Shirwad, working in Madgoan, said the government acquired land for industrial area in Shirwad village, dozens of industries started to function about a decade ago, later they were closed and people of Shirwad become jobless.
“My younger brother works in Bengaluru and I am working in Goa from last four years,” he added. Low wages, costly life, discrimination are the main problems at Goa, none are happy to work in Goa due to such problems, but there is no way to earn daily bread therefore they have been working there from last four years. “We have lost hope on government, no elected representative and ministers are interested to start industries in the region. They always assure of bringing eco-friendly industries, but none have acted upon,” he added