District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla has said that the migrant labour force in the district is completely safe, in an effort to assuage anxieties of migrant labourers in the wake of rumours of persecution of migrants doing the rounds in the State.
He said that allegations of atrocities against migrants being spread through platforms like WhatsApp was a hoax and without basis. Mr. Safirulla warned of stern action against those found engaged in such misinformation campaign.
A meeting chaired by the District Collector at the collectorate here on Monday discussed reports of the fake campaign. Labour, police and revenue departments attended the meeting.
The Collector assured of adalats modelled along the lines of mass contact programmes to address the complaints of migrants. Labour Department officials will visit migrant workers’ camps in the district to collect statistics.
Fake reports of atrocities against migrants had been doing rounds for over a week now. Mohammed and Junaid, two youngsters from West Bengal working at an eatery at Vyttila, received the WhatsApp message twice. “I first got it a week back. I knew straightaway that it was a rumour. We have been here long enough to know that such things hardly ever happen in Kerala,” said Muhammed.
It would have been big news in the media had it been for real, chipped in Junaid. Obviously, not all were as confident as the duo. Rattled by the message, many migrant workers chose to leave rather than verifying it, forcing the district administration to come up with an announcement.
