The Coimbatore Corporation has brought in 40 labourers from Rajasthan for the Vellalore integrated bus stand project.
Sources in the Corporation said more than a fortnight ago, the Corporation, through the contractor tasked with executing the project, brought in the migrant labourers in a bus. After finding out through the manpower contractor if the labourers were willing to return to Coimbatore, the contractor informed the civic body, which through the district administration arranged for e-pass.
The labourers travelled by road for three days to reach the construction site, where, after preliminary medical screening, they spent 14 days in quarantine. They were now ready to resume work.
The Corporation felt the need to resume work on the project because it had accorded high priority setting a target of one year for completion.
The Corporation had planned to build the bus stand on a 61.62 acre land near its dump yard in Vellalore at ₹ 168 crore. The bus stand would have 140 bays for outstation buses, 112 idle parking lots, 18 disembark points, 33 bays for town buses among other facilities.
Following on the success in bringing in migrant labourers, the Corporation was also looking at the manpower shortage in other projects, the sources said.
The Corporation through Suez India Pvt. Ltd., the company that is executing the 24x7 drinking water supply project in 60 of the 100 wards, was taking steps to bring in labourers for the project, which was already six to eight months behind schedule.
The company was in need for around 200 labourers, most of who were from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The sources said the Corporation was similarly in need of 100-plus labourers to complete the lake development project. The labourers from Bihar and neighbouring states who had initially stayed put in the city left after the Central Government launched special trains.
Now, it was taking to the project contractor as well as manpower contractor to see if it could bring back the labourers but they seemed reluctant.
As for the multi-level car parking project, under way on D.B. Road, the contractor had labourers housed at the site. And, as a result, work was in progress as scheduled, the sources added.
