Determining Factors for Migration in Uttarakhand

Migration in India is both a historical and present phenomenon. Migration in India is mostly influenced by social structures and pattern of development. Various uneven development policies by all the governments since independence have accelerated the process of migration. In Uttarakhand, migration is one of the major contributors to urban growth, because of limited opportunities of economic development within the region; male members of family are migrating in large numbers to the urban and industrial areas in the plains in search of employment. This serious problem of migration leads to work burden on women after male out-migration. This paper aims to find out the perception of women about the push determinants of migration. A total of 220 respondents were studied in the present research. It was evident from the result that the respondents perceived that lack of employment opportunities as the major push determinant. It was also found that respondents agreed that the other push determinants like inability to meet basic needs, increased household expenses, inability to meet educational expenses and medical expenses were other main reasons to leave the rural place. Rural-urban migration can be controlled on a large scale if the government will provide all kind of support to the rural migrants for getting their livelihoods and provide them basic amenities for a descent standard of living at the rural areas as like as its urban counterpart.