MIGRATION A Burgeoning Phenomenon

February 13, 2004
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With the large number of population moving internally from one place to another, the population structure of country’s urban areas particularly Kathmandu valley has witnessed a drastic change. Strained by the pressure of the population growth coupled with high inbound migration, the infrastructures of the valley have been unable to cope even as the new migrant population is playing an important role in accelerating the economic growth. Both the migrants who have gone overseas to work as well as those who have been displaced internally are bringing about changes in social and economic structures. The time has come for policy makers to think about the expansion of infrastructures to manage the migrant population as the growing conflict is certain to drive away thousands of people more from villages to cities

By KESHAB POUDEL

– Krishna Bahadur Chand, 26, a resident of Darchula district came to capital Kathmandu two years ago in search of employment. After visiting relatives, political leaders and others, Chand, a high school educated person, secured a job at construction company. Chand worked in the intersection improvement project for the first one and half years and now he is working in another drinking water project in the capital.

– Having grown up in Ilam municipality, Kapil Moktan, 25, a graduate, came to Biratnagar last year and worked as a salesman at a renowned noodle industry. Moktan, unmarried, is living in a rented room along with his brother who is studying at Purvanchal University Biratnagar.

– Jhalak Bista, 32, has a different story to tell. Bista, who is running a small tea-shop in Dhulikhel, fled his village in Dolakha following the upsurge of insurgency and deteriorating situation.

Capital Kathmandu and industrial eastern towns like Biratnagar are not the only cities where a large number of rural population have flocked in search of work. Almost all urban areas are overcrowded by the burgeoning migrant population in the last one decade.

Previously isolated and confined, the people of villages could easily move to and fro along with the opening up of new highways and regular transport system. Never in the history of Nepal such a large number of people moved from one zone to another within the country.

The migration is taking place not only from remote rural areas to main urban centers but also taking place from village-to-village; village to district headquarters; district headquarters to regional headquarters; and then to the capital. “I am happy to live here in Dhulikhel making some money through a tea shop,” said Bista who has a wife and two small daughters. “There are many other people who have escaped from village under death threat.”

“Different studies have shown that various levels of migration is taking place in different geographical areas changing the demographic pattern as well as economic activities,” said Dr. Ram Hari Aryal, population expert with the National Planning Commission. “The international migration has even helped to inject new life in the Nepalese economy.”

In the history of Nepal, this is for the first time when the people of different regions have enormous choices to move from one geographical zone to another. The growing cases of violence and insurgency have also pushed people to migrate in much safer place but this is not the solitary cause of increased internal mobility.

Opening up of high ways and shortened length of travel between different places have encouraged people to move from one place to another. Despite increasing movement of people, it still seems manageable. Of course, the changes in the structure of urban population has already put certain pressure on the existing infrastructures like drinking water, electricity, health and education in many urban areas.

Expanding Urban Areas

Whether it is Pokhara, Butwal, Nepalgunj, Mahendra Nagar and other urban areas in hill and terai, large number of rural population are coming in search of jobs. Kathmandu valley, the most attractive destination, has seen tremendous increase in the population over the last one decade.

Thanks to its link with many other towns near and far, Kathmandu valley, where most of the facilities including the higher education, transport, communication, small handicraft industries and hospitals are confined, has become the most favorite destination for migration.

Migration is an important component of population analysis since it is a movement of people from one place to another. The migration can change the population structures as well as have direct bearing on the population growth.

Till a decade ago, only few district headquarters were connected with each other but at present, 60 district headquarters are linked with each other by daily public transport. And many nearby small towns have road links with district headquarters. Because of increasing road network, large numbers of people now have easy means to roam from one place to another.

Trend of Migration

The trend of large volume of internal migration in Nepal is just five decade old. The growth of population in the major cities in hills as well as in terai region is one of the visible changes brought about by internal migration. Since Nepal’s terai area was infected with high prevalence of malaria, there was very insignificant migration between hill and terai till 1950. With the successful control of malaria in terai in 1960, migratory movement from hills and mountain areas to terai started to increase. At the same time, migration to Kathmandu valley also gained pace.

According to Nepal Population Report 2002, published by the Ministry of Population and Environment, the trend of migration has been increasing in Nepal. In 1971, 445,128 people migrated within the country, which accounted for 3.9 percent of the total population. It increased to 929,585 in 1981, comprising 6.2 percent of total population. Hence, the volume of internal migration increased by 32.1 percent as compared to a decade back, to make the number of migrants to 1,228,356, which is 6.6 percent of total population.. The migration of people from hill to terai has increased by many folds. The pull factor of terai was resettlement programs, availability of the fertile arable land, employment opportunities, better communication and transport facility.

A survey conducted by the Central Department of Population Studies in 1996 showed that out of the total population in Nepal, 22 percent were internal migrants. The study also showed that migration rate among female was far higher than the male. Persons aged between 15-39 were more mobile than other age groups. Terai also has a large number of migrants from the south.

Before the restoration of democracy in 1990, the valley’s link to the outside country was limited. According to the Department of Roads, the valley is now directly connected with 60 districts headquarters of Nepal. Had the country not faced the insurgency, 68 district headquarters including remote parts of the country like Jumla, Kalikot, Darchula would already have been linked to Nepal’s capital.

Transport Networks

The direct transport link to the capital from the different parts of the country has resulted in the high growth of temporary and permanent migration in the valley. From Dadeldhura of far western region to Ilam of eastern region, one can arrive in the capital by taking a direct bus. Till few years back, people of Dadeldhura had to go to India first to come to valley.

According to the Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs, valley is now linked with 150 destinations of different parts of the country. Because of road network and economic opportunities many people prefer to take refuge in the valley rather than going to foreign countries in search of job.

“Though it is easier to go across the border, I decided to move to Kathmandu since I don’t have to face any difficulty to come here,” said Chand. “It will take me just two days now to reach my home in Darchula compared to 5 to 7 days long journey it used to take in the past involving bus and train travels in India and Nepal.”

Although one can see significant changes in the pattern of migration and their contribution to the Nepalese economy, the issue of migrant population is hardly of concern to anybody. No body seems to be interested to pick up this important issue. The expansion of transport network also increases the possibility to generate the employment opportunities in the rural parts of the country. But until and unless peace and normalcy return to the countryside, nobody would prefer to invest in the rural parts of the country.

Despite certain threats, many rural people are working hard producing off-season vegetables and fruits to sell.

“Migration is the least researched area in Nepal compared to other demographic dynamics despite the fact that many socio-economic, demographic and political problems are closely associated with the process of both internal and international migration,” said professor Bal Kumar K.C, who teaches population at Tribhuwan University Central Campus.

Despite its pressures on the limited infrastructures, the migration is good to sustain the economic growth. “The migration is good phenomenon for country’s economic development and prosperity. The movement of people helps to bring the change in the mode of economics. Nepal’s subsistence based agriculture and economy has been gradually transforming towards commercialization,” said an economist. “Migration in any form supports the economic growth.”

Despite disturbance in the rural areas, the country’s average economic growth rate has achieved moderate target of 2.6 percent in the year 2003. This is a result of high mobility of the rural population in the urban areas. Despite the stagnant rural economy, the country’s urban economy has seen high level of growth. According to the Asian Development Bank’s Nepal Quarterly Economic Update December 2003, the real GDP is likely to grow about 4 percent in Fiscal year 2004 despite the breakdown of the ceasefire in August 2003.

“The studies have disclosed that a large number of people in Nepal are moving by choice and will continue to move to different places which offer them greater opportunities and better amenities in life,” said Dr. Ram Hari Aryal, population expert with the National Planning Commission. “These movements of people change the development profiles and economic potentials of various regions.”

The 2001 census provided internal migration data for 75 districts and 58 urban Centers. Data deficiency did not allow detail analysis of migration phenomenon from the perspective of poverty, gender and development at various levels of spatial aggregation.

The rapidly urbanizing rural markets and towns is a by-product of existing development trends. The potential of migration is a necessary contemporary force in national socio-economic development. In view of the high disparity in income levels, physical facilities and employment opportunities between the rural and urban areas, the pace of migration is inevitably going to be high in Nepal in the foreseeable future, experts say.

The population of major cities increased by many folds in the last five decades. There are many stages of migration from rural to urban areas like Kathmandu. First, many rural people move to emerging rural market centers and later to the regional market before landing into major cities. The experts see there are very dynamic rural-to-urban and urban-to- urban migratory trends, which will continue to change the socio-economic fabric of Nepal in the future.

According to the first census of 1952, the population of the Kathmandu Municipality was 105,247 against (the present) 671,874. In 1991 census, 421,258 population was recorded in the valley. The population growth rate in the last decade was 4.67 percent per annum in the valley compared to the national average of 2.35. Lalitpur Municipality, too, has a high population growth rate. The population of Lalitpur was recorded at 41,334 in 1952 but it has reached 162,991 now. The growth was lowest in Bhaktapur municipality among the three cities of the valley.

Birtanagar, Birgunj, Dharan Janakpur and other old towns and new towns also witnessed similar changes in population level. Biratnagar municipality had 8,060 population in 1952 but it has gone up to 166,674 in 2001. The population that increased between 1991 to 2001 alone was 37,286. Nepalgunj Municipality also witnessed change in the pattern of population. The city had 10,813 population in 1952 against 57,535 in 2001.

The census of 1952 recognized 10 towns as urban settlements and total population there was 238,000 or 3 percent of the national total. According to the census results of 2001, there are 58 municipalities with total population of 3.2 million or 14.2 percent of national total. This is an increase of 400 percent.

International Migration

Along with internal migration, the number of people going abroad for the employment has tremendously increased. The remittances sent by the Nepalese who have migrated to foreign country is supporting Nepal’s overall economic development.

The decade of 1990 showed a strong growth in the number of migration of Nepalese nationals for foreign employment. Although it was not good for the rural agriculture economy since this meant diminishing manpower there, the migration to foreign country is helping to bring in hard currency in the country in form of remittances.

Before 1990, Nepalese workers’ access to foreign countries was very limited and confined to British Army. Following the inception of liberal democratic system, Nepalese have started to move to different parts of the world. From East Asia to Gulf, Nepalese migrant workers are now working in different parts of the world. There are also a large number of migrant workers in India.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment Promotion, there are about 400,000 Nepalese workers in different parts of the world. The data collected by the department showed that 105,055 Nepalese workers went for foreign employment in the year 2002/03. Unofficial estimates shows that more than half a million Nepalese migrants are now working in different parts of the world bringing in over Rs.70 billion equivalent of foreign currency to Nepal through official and non official channel. Strong growth in remittances is expected to strengthen external payments.

“There are various types of time bound migrations such as seasonal migration followed by temporary, semi-permanent and possibly a permanent move, unless a migrant keeps on circulating or moving by just changing the location several times a year or more. The short or long distance migration from rural-to-rural and rural-to-urban inside the country is vital for migration analysis. Whatever the types of migration in terms of both time and space, except forced migration due to natural calamity and war, migrants usually respond to pull and push factors depending upon whether it was an individual migration or a migration involving the entire family members and other relatives,” writes Bal Kumar K.C.

A large majority of migrants hold the view that they migrated for better employment opportunities, for earning more income, to raise their standard of living, for education, for survival, for business or service or even environmental factors among many others. In recent months, rural people are moving to much safer place following the intensification of insurgency.

Migration remains an important component of population redistribution in Nepal.

People have been migrating from rural-to-rural and rural-to-urban areas in search of employment and educational opportunities. Occasional natural calamities like floods and landslides have also forced people to flee from their birth-place to other potential areas for their livelihood.

Despite its certain shortcomings in the overall development, the migration can contribute immensely to the transfer of knowledge and skills from one place to another and help to broaden the perspective and horizon of rural people. Having been isolated for centuries within the country, the population of Nepalese rural hinterland has now begun to realize that there are other places with more opportunities. When the country needs massive mobility of manpower to enhance the economy, the migration can play an important role and needs to be better managed.