Latehar:
The assembly election in Jharkhand is just a few days away. But many villages across the state are empty. Most people, especially the poor, are out of the state in search of work.
In villages like Belwa Tand in Latehar, one of the few left behind is Ruby Devi, whose husband and father-in-law have gone to Bihar to work for the harvest season and will be back only in January.
"They will get enough rice to last the year. I have stayed behind to look after the children, and my mother-in-law," Ruby said.
The migration is not restricted to the agricultural season.
Extreme poverty means that in other months of the year, most able-bodied men and women are working in brick kilns or as construction labourers in cities. And their number is substantial. Of the 69 lakh families in Jharkhand, 36 lakh, that's just over 50%, are below the poverty line - making Jharkhand one of the poorest states in India.
Like many other states, the rural jobs scheme MNREGA is not doing well here. Government sources say the state is out of cash right now for wage payments and needs at least Rs 400 crore from the Central government. And so, people like Vinod Kumar, one of the few who try to earn their living locally in Belwa Tand, say migration isn't an option but a necessity. "Both my parents have gone to Bihar. This is necessary for survival," said Vinod.
But issues like these are not a priority for politicians, or so it seems, given the absolute lack of development here in the last 14 years.
Mohan Ganju, a candidate of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which has been in power for long, said, "Hemant Soren has done more in the last 14 months than what has happened here all these months."