Socio Economic Conditions and Employment Opportunities of Returnee Migrants in Post COVID Uttarakhand

This study undertakes the ethnographic work to understand the experiences of Uttarakhand migrants who returned to their villages after the COVID-19 pandemic. It attempts to look at the balance of recovery, analysing the rest of the economy. The study aims at the changes in employment and income earning opportunities of returnee migrants, their living standards, and the pertinent skills, infrastructure, government programs, and political context that determine their access to sustainable employment and residing in Almora and Champawat where 705 returnee migrants were interviewed and surveyed. The findings show that the employment opportunities in the region are scarce and access to work is limited to highly seasonal, and discriminatory employment, both gender and caste. Many migrants, even though they are unskilled, have the drive to learn. The lack of subsidized loans and government assistance makes the ability to establish any sustainable employment or business even more difficult. In spite of these daily challenges, migrants have not given up their hope and aspire to a ‘better’ future, one that is meaningful, reasonably paid work, and supported by the community. This work proposes policies that combine social welfare and the economies of the region to assist both migrants and local people of Uttarakhand region.