Thousands of mill workers from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh gathered here on Saturday to demand housing and employment promised to them according to State legislation. A delegation of the workers met Governor K. Sankaranarayanan with their demands.
“We need 2.5 lakh houses. As per the government's present plan, only 68,000 houses will be made available. Even the prices quoted by the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority [MHADA] are very high,” Datta Iswalkar, president, Mill Workers Action Committee, told The Hindu .
Closure of textile mills in Mumbai after 1981-82 had led to lakhs of workers becoming jobless and displaced. Some could not survive the ravages and had to shift out of Mumbai.
