Metrowater houses migrant workers at 32 camps in city

Groceries, medicine and sanitisers being provided

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 08/04/2020: In this photo taken on April 3, 2020 Migrant workers wait on marked areas on the ground to maintain social distancing as they queue wait to get free food packets at an industrial area during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Chennai. - The fear of going hungry sparked an exodus by hundreds of thousands of migrant workers and their families back to their villages last month, many on foot. The International Labour Organization (ILO) said this week that 400 million Indians working in the informal economy risk falling deeper into poverty during the crisis. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

A total of 572 migrant workers, engaged in various water supply and sewerage projects, have remained in the city since the lockdown.

Chennai Metrowater has set up camps in 32 places across the city to house these workers from various States, including West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. The workers are involved in projects funded by multilateral agencies. They are being provided groceries, medicines and sanitisers.

“Project engineers in-charge will check on their needs. Our dispensary doctors also visit them for regular check-ups. Works on to lay pipelines in the added areas have been suspended. Most migrant workers are engaged in such projects,” said an official. The workers have been advised to practice physical distancing.

The water agency has provided safety gear to nearly 3,500 officers and workers engaged in essential services. This includes safety suits and boots.

Safety gear

It has sought N-95 masks for field workers, particularly those involved in sewage management.

“Several of them continue to work round-the-clock to provide water supply and sewage disposal. We continue to take up emergency works such as water pollution complaints and desilting of sewer manholes,” said an official.

The N-95 masks will be given to workers with high-exposure risks.

After the lockdown was announced, the number of trips by water tankers has come down by 600, every day, as more water is being supplied through pipelines. Now, about 5,000 tanker trips are being operated daily, said officials.