Over 400 migrant labourers from Bihar and Jharkhand staying in Velacherry and Guindy protested on roads and demanded authorities to permit them to journey back to their homes.
On Saturday, around 150 labourers staying in rental houses at Nehru Nagar, Velachery, located behind Phoenix Mall, trooped towards Velachery Main Road. On seeing them moving en masse, residents alerted the police, who intercepted the protesters once they reached the main road.
They demanded special trains to return to their home towns and villages in Bihar and Jharkhand. Babu, a labourer from Bihar, said, “We were working at the retail outlets in the mall and nearby eateries. Due to lockdown, we have been unemployed for over a month and have not received salaries. We are also unable to return home.”
Another group, numbering over 300, protested near the Olympia Tech Park in Guindy. Police prevented them from proceeding further and negotiated with them. Officers said steps would be taken for their return home. Following this, the protesters returned to their lodgings.
A group of construction labourers in Ambattur Estate demanded wages from a private construction firm. Police negotiated with them and made the firm disburse the pending wages.
