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NREGA hits buses to Mumbai

P. Sainath The programme is "life-saving.' This time round, the poor have slightly more money than they did earlier. But all prices are up. Still on the margins: NREG work has seen migration levels fall sharply in Kondapur. Just three years ago, there were 40 to 45 bus services a week to Mumbai from Mahbubnagar district. This year the number is down to 28. Kondapur is deserted. It usually is, in the month of May. This village in Mahbubnagar district of Telangana falls in the belt known for some of the highest levels of migration in south India each year.