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8-6-2009

PRIORITIES AND BEHAVIOUR OF MIGRANTS IN THE CITY CHANGING VERY FAST, REVEALS STUDY


The priorities and general behaviour of migrants in Ludhiana city is changing at very high speed. It has been noticed that Mobile and TV, and especially mobile phones top the purchase preference list of the migrants rather than cycle, which earlier used to be a priority. This research has been undertaken by an MBA final year student, Gurkaran Singh of Punjab College of Technical Education, PCTE, Ludhiana, under the supervision of Mr. P.P.Singh, Sr. Faculty in the Business Management Department of PCTE with the project report entitled, `Sanskritization v/s Urbanization: A case study on migrants in Ludhiana',

While extending remarks on the research, Dr. K.N.S.Kang, Director General, PCTE Institutes said that the migrants have become the essential part of city. It is very good to notice that the awareness level of migrants towards education, technology, right use of money has increased noticeably. This is a good sign of growth for nation as well.

The research was done on a total number of 160 migrants, 40 each from different occupational groups, namely, construction labor work, technical work, own business and trading work, which was so taken in order to have the views of different and maximum strata of migrants. The main objective of the research was to know the changes in different aspects that migrants have gone through over the period of time, when they stayed at their native place, which was Bihar and UP in most of the cases, till the present period in Ludhiana.

The study revealed out that these migrants who mainly stuck to agricultural work, which may be as a laborer or as an owner, at their native place, were completely open to any form of work in Ludhiana and did not make themselves restrict to any particular field. As per the study, there was a huge add up to the money earned by these migrants earlier and now, which had increased from a mere sum of Rs. 500 per month on an average to an average of Rs. 3500 per month and even in certain cases to Rs. 4000 per month. The most important change among all being their materialism profile, cycle which used to top their priority list at their native place, had now been completely replaced by Mobile and Television, the mobile phone the migrants feel in their vital need and also almost all of the respondent migrants had a mobile phone. There have been a number of changes in the behavioral aspects of the migrants, they have learnt about the value of education, they have opened up their bank accounts, but the main noticeable thing over here is that the inclination is still towards the public sector banks; rice has been replaced by chapattis, saris by suits, the language spoken is mainly Punjabi. The behavior of people at their native place has positively changed a lot towards them; the awareness level of migrants towards family planning, eating and drinking habits has increased. But still issues are there concerning their safety and problems, but the livelihood that the city has given these migrants makes them in a sense satisfied.