Migrant workers made to stay back, work by govt contractors in Bengaluru

Even as thousands of migrant workers from different parts of the country living in Bengaluru gathered outside Palace Grounds on Saturday with a hope to return home, some found themselves stuck inside the construction sites of the government project.

About 300-400 workers engaged in a water treatment plant of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) sought their subcontractor to let them go home soon after the first Shramik train from Karnataka began on May 4.

However, for three weeks, the subcontractors lied to them saying that their home states were not receiving them and hence they have to stay put.

Neither did they help them to register on the Seva Sindhu, an online platform for migrant workers who wish to travel back home, nor did they allow them out of the project site near Nayandahalli in the city.

“We kept asking them to let us register and travel but they gave us false information. And when our fellow migrant workers living in other parts of the city reached home, our family members started questioning us asking why we are not coming,” said Ambuj Gope, a migrant worker from Purulia in West Bengal.

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The worried migrant workers reached out to The Federal on May 16 after which a complaint was registered with the Labour Department the next day. While the labour officials visited the site and took the contractors to task, no formal complaint was registered against them. But the workers were assisted in the registration process on May 18.

“Since no worker was ready to give a written complaint, we did not file a case against the subcontractors. However, we warned them and in the meantime helped workers register on the Seva Sindhu portal,” labour inspector Manjunath Asthakatti told The Federal.

But after the registration, the workers still raised concerns about them not being allowed to go out. A second complaint was filed on their behalf on May 21.

Besides, the workers also alleged that their wages were not paid since February.

“We have taken notice of their delayed wage payments and asked the authorities to clear payment immediately up to last month as per the Supreme Court guidelines,” Asthakatti said. “Regarding their complaint of them not being allowed to go out of the company, we have forwarded it to Bytrayanpura police station and appraised the concerned deputy commissioner of police.”

Karnataka High Court on Friday (May 8) had directed the state government to frame a policy and lay down procedures to enable migrant workers to leave Karnataka and reach their respective states. The court also took notice of incidences of builders confining workers at the construction site and said the state will have to attend to such complaints to ensure the migrant workers are not harassed.

With lack of transparency over the way in which the registered migrant workers are chosen for the Shramik Express trains, many migrant workers reach the railway station day-in-day-out with a hope to get back home. With the administration clueless about handling the situation, civil society groups approached the court and filed a complaint with the Chief Minister to set things in order.

Gope, 23, who arrived in the city a year ago, feels that if he goes home now, at least he can get some agricultural labour work if he reaches the village before the cropping season in June.

Meanwhile, six workers from Jharkhand and seven workers from Uttar Pradesh were informed that they will be able to board the train on Saturday night. But the rest are still stranded at the project site.

Rahul Kumar Yadav from Jharkhand who too was stuck inside the worksite said he was finally happy after the officials asked him to pack his bags and be ready to board the Shramik Express train.

Seeing this, many workers from West Bengal, mainly those who hailed from Purulia, which is close to Jharkhand (150ms) demanded that they be sent in Jharkhand train and they will manage to travel between these two places. “If we travel 2000 kms, the rest 150 we will manage to catch a bus or even go by foot if needed. All we request the government to send us home,” Gope pleads.