Registering migrants, one WhatsApp message at a time

Nanjaya Pradhan migrated to Kerala to work in an ice factory before returning home to Danekbadi, Odisha to lead the gram panchayat as its Sarpanch. Drawing on his migration experience, he started a WhatsApp-based registry in December 2025 to track migrant workers from his village—recording where they go, who they work for, and who to contact in an emergency.

Watch this video where he explains how the registry works, the resistance he faced in convincing people to sign up, and how it helped bring a deceased migrant’s body home from Kerala.

Nanjaya Pradhan is the Sarpanch of Danekbadi gram panchayat, located in the Daringbadi block of Kandhamal district, Odisha. 

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Know more: Learn how migration is changing villages in Odisha.