| Population |
1,51,575 |
Panchayats |
40 |
Villages |
128 |
| Main Communities |
Bhils, Garasias, Meghwals |
| Major Migration Streams |
Construction, mining, hotel and restaurant, cooking, head-loading and textile labour. |
| Main Destinations |
Surat, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Rajkot and Udaipur |
Gogunda block of Udaipur district is a pre-dominantly tribal pocket 
and typical
to most blocks of district, it is a mountainous and degraded region with low agriculture and livestock production and high vulnerability to drought. Migration from Gogunda is heavy and primarily in the direction of Gujarat, Udaipur, and some industrial regions within Rajasthan. Major migrant groups from Gogunda include construction and mining workers, hotel and restaurant workers, head loaders, factory labour and workers in the textile market. Ahmedabad and Surat are major destinations for interstate migrants from Gogunda.
Gogunda was the first location of Aajeevika Bureau’s work when it began in 2004. Many of the core services for migrants were first designed and tested here and later replicated in other blocks. The coverage within Gogunda has since become fairly intensive and strong contacts exist in nearly 30 panchayats. Along with registration of migrant workers, there are many other services which are offered to migrants. These include skill training, placement and counseling. The centre also provides mediation and arbitration support to migrants facing exploitative situation with contractors and employers. Legal education and awareness is an important agenda of the Gogunda centre. Promoting the formation of labour collectives in specific trades is also a key activity of the center. A financial services program has been introduced which includes lending, opening of bank accounts and promotion of savings among migrant workers. This programmes is managed by the Rajasthan Shram Sarathi Association (RSSA) – a company promoted by Aajeevika Bureau to provide financial solutions to rural migrants.
The Bureau team is headquartered in Gogunda town (35 kms from Udaipur) and is supported by two smaller sub-centres in Padrada and Barwada respectively. The Padrada centre is managed in partnership with Sangam Sansthan, a local organization that promotes community action on natural resource management and women’s empowerment.
