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| Recent Trends of Rural to Urban Migration in Ladakh | ||||||||||||||||
| Paper Id :
16054 Submission Date :
11/05/2022 Acceptance Date :
11/05/2022 Publication Date :
25/05/2022
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| Abstract | The growing trend of rural-urban migration in Ladakh is a reflection of a structural shift in the economic activities from agriculture to non-agriculture. In recent years, a trend has emerged in rural outmigration, partially driven by improved education, improved social services, and job opportunities in Leh town from villages of Ladakh. This has resulted in agricultural lands and traditional occupations being abandoned. Migrants are being drawn to Leh town from villages throughout Ladakh and large settlements have sprung up around the capital. Among all the economic changes underway in Ladakh, the large-scale migration of people from villages to Leh town is of particular importance in understanding the social, economic, and demographic changes taking place in Ladakh. It is thus important to examine these aspects to understand the problem of rural-urban migration in its proper perspective and to formulate policies that will help to achieve a sustainable future for Ladakh and its people. | |||||||||||||||
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| Keywords | Climate Change, Employment Opportunities, Migration, Tourism, Urbanization | |||||||||||||||
| Introduction |
Ladakh lies on the rain shadow side of the Himalayas, where dry monsoon winds reach after being robbed of moisture in the plains and the Himalayan mountains. Shafiq et al. (2016) describe Ladakh as a ‘cold desert’ as it has both arctic and desert climates. It is characterized by rugged topography with an average altitude of over 3000 meters above sea level (Dame & Marcus, 2008). It has poorly developed soil, harsh topography, a short growing season, and limited availability of cultivable land. Ladakh is comprised of two districts Leh and Kargil. According to the census of (2011), the population of Ladakh is 274289. Leh District in the Union Territory of Ladakh is one of the largest districts in terms of total land area. Leh is the only major urban area in the region and all crucial infrastructures like administrative setup, healthcare, transportation and educational facilities are centred here. The population of Ladakh comprises eight tribal groups constituting more than 97 per cent. The region is mainly inhabited by Scheduled Tribes, namely Balti, Beda, Bot/Boto, Brokpa/Drokpa/Dard/Shina, Changpa, Garra, Mon and Purigpa (PIB, 2019). Although farming is the main livelihood source, all tribes now undertake many off-farm income-earning activities as well, including seasonal migration and permanent migration from all the four regions of Ladakh i.e. Sham, Nubra, Changthang and Zanskar to Leh, the capital of Ladakh. |
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| Aim of study | The aim is to understand the phenomenon of rural to urban migration in Ladakh by studying its causes and consequences. There has been very few studies on the topic despite it being one of the most important issue at the moment in Ladakh. | |||||||||||||||
| Review of Literature | The trend of rural to urban migration in Ladakh
Subsistence farming, livestock rearing and income generation activities like small scale trade and wage and casual labour are the mainstay way of livelihood in the mountainous communities around the world (Eriksson et al., 2009). In the case of Ladakh, the vast majority of people were living as farmers in small villages but it has changed drastically in the last few decades. The dramatic shift from traditional subsistence agriculture to non-agricultural activities as a source of livelihood is mainly led by tourism followed by employment in government service including armed forces. Dependency and importance of farming is decreasing as people are now increasingly dependent on heavily subsidised ration distributed by the government through the public distribution system (PDS) in the last few decades. Leh is one of the fastest expanding small towns in India and it is in a water scarce region (Jandl, 2005). Between 1981 and 2001, the population of Leh tripled in size (Dollfuss, 2012). The urban population has increased exponentially in the last decade and today the town of Leh has a population of about 45,000 (Ladakh Ecological Development Group [LEDeG], 2019). There is seasonal and permanent rural outmigration. The seasonal migrants are like those who engage in tourism, who migrate at the start of summer and stay till the onset of autumn as during these months most of the tourists visit Ladakh and they get employment in various capacities. There are others who migrate permanently and they are mainly engaged in activities like daily wage labourer, running small businesses, restaurant and working as driver etc. throughout the year. Migrants take up different types of work and non-farm activities are the key drivers of migration and social mobility in Leh Ladakh (Goodall, 2004).
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| Main Text | Cause and
Consequences of Migration Migration from
rural to urban areas is an increasingly common phenomenon in most of the
developing countries in the world. Rural-urban migration is an important issue
that all countries face in the urbanisation process. Changes in economic
structure, climate change, and migration are all closely linked. A high rate of
migration indicates a high degree of rural-urban differences in perceived
income and economic opportunity. Migration is
the response to booming tourism in Leh. Factors like climate change and the
centralization of Leh as the economic and administrative centre act as push and
pull factors. The motivation to leave rural areas for most of the migrants is
to seek better job opportunities and higher expected incomes in the areas of
destination. As Leh became the functional central hub, migrants from different
regions of Ladakh started migrating in search of employment opportunities. Many
new wards like Housing colony, Ibex colony, Nimoling, Skampari, Murtsey have
been established to accommodate migrants since the 1990s (Müller & Dame,
2016). Dame et al. (2019) study show the rapid demographic growth and
construction activities in Leh leading to the urbanization of Leh. They
observed the expansion into the barren land, agricultural land, and the densification
of built-up areas in and around Leh. The rapid expansion of areas like
Skampari, Skalzangling, Housing Colony and Ibex Colony have taken place since
the 1990s. These settlements house a large number of migrants who have migrated
from the different villages of Ladakh. The consequences of rapid unplanned
urbanization create a host of problems like urban squalor, pollution, and
crime. Leh is on the brink of drinking water scarcity, the Public Health
Engineering (PHE) department is under immense pressure to meet the increasing
demand for water in Leh town as snowfall is erratic and the groundwater level
is depleting fast (Ladol, 2019). Increasing waste generation is another big
challenge in Ladakh. Plastic waste is becoming a menace as it pollutes the air,
land, and water and affects the whole ecology. The tourism
industry has opened up employment opportunities in Leh, and people are
migrating from rural parts of Ladakh. Tourism provides a valuable income source
for guides, porters, taxi drivers, retailers, handicrafts, restaurant owners,
etc. directly or indirectly. Tourism contributes almost 50% of the local GDP
but its benefit is concentrated to Leh city (Pelliciardi 2010). There is a huge
deployment of armed forces in and around Leh and it acts as pull factor as it
provides many income opportunities to locals in permanent and temporary
appointments at different levels. A harsh climate and less availability of
fertile soil make it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of the growing
population, and migration becomes the only option. Bhasin (1999) argued that as
the practice of polyandrous marriage and primogeniture is no longer practiced
so the available land can no longer support the increasing population pressure
and food requirements. Farming in Ladakh has many constraints like water
shortages, low temperatures, poor soil, coupled with small landholdings, which
are forcing people from rural areas to migrate in search of livelihood and
employment. Agriculture production is entirely based on irrigation in Ladakh.
There are villages like Kulum, Kumik etc. which have been forced to abandon due
to water scarcity, and many villages are about to face the fate of these
villages as climate change is wreaking havoc in the Himalayan region and
migration is the only escape. People in Ladakh must strike a balance between
preserving the past and innovating for the future to adapt to the changing
uncertainties of climate change and other challenges (Daultrey & Gergan,
2011). Table 1:
Increasing Urban Population in Leh District
*Data
not available. **Spituk and Choglamsar were also included in the urban list and now the urban population is 45,671. Compiled based on Census of India (1981, 1991, 2001, 2011). |
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| Conclusion | Though migration could not be stopped completely, and it is neither healthy but there must be an effort to arrest the growing trend of migration to maintain the sustainability of both rural villages and the city. To overcome the negative consequences of migration in Ladakh, necessary initiatives on the above-suggested ideas must be taken at the earliest. Leh has a comparatively low carrying capacity and the increasing trend of outmigration and abandonment of agriculture and villages to settle in Leh will have drastic consequences for both the areas of origin and destination. Suggestion It is for these reasons that policies to regulate and discourage rural-urban migration are often considered like devising new methods to enhance agricultural production and diversification, providing basic facilities in rural areas. Livelihood opportunities must be created at the village level by exploring innovative enterprises like promotion of rural tourism, training and skilling of unemployed youths. There is huge scope for commercial farming and organic farming in rural areas, especially in the Indus belt and the Nubra region of Ladakh. Livelihood opportunities and facilities available in urban areas must be created in rural areas to arrest the growing trend of unhealthy migration. Therefore, an active policy to strengthen the trends towards more balanced urbanisation becomes necessary. And an important aspect of such a policy would consist of ways of redirecting rural-urban migration away from Leh to the relatively smaller towns. Development of blocks like Khaltsi, Diskit, and Nyoma by offering educational institutions like colleges and healthcare and other facilities must be considered. It will have a multiplier effect on the opening of different livelihood opportunities in rural areas which will aid in reducing the undue pressure on Leh town. | |||||||||||||||
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