It is like being caught between a rock and a hard place, says Suraj (name changed), a native of West Bengal who has been working for Bengaluru’s Namma Metro project. He is among around 500 migrant workers still at the metro workers’ colony in Bommanahalli, which was recently a site of unrest and violence.
While the workers claimed that they were only trying to draw media attention to their plight in the colony when the police started caning them, the police said they were trying to maintain social distancing.
With relaxations in place, those like Suraj can get back to work. But he points to the irony — social distancing is not easy to follow at the colony or at workplace. It is for those who have “comfortable indoor jobs,” he says.
Thousands of migrant workers in the city, indispensable and yet invisible, have been ruled by fear of the disease, frustration from being away from family, cooped up in workers’ colonies and camps, and anxious over their present and future. But what many want now is to be in the safety of their homes.
“Yes, we don’t have many job opportunities there. But there is no one here to take care of us even if we fall sick,” says Suraj.
The city has been witnessing incidents of violence among migrant workers in the last few days, and lack of coordination among different departments is being blamed as much as the failure of employers to pay pending dues and provide them with liveable environments. Monday’s incident, which left a police officer injured, exposed the chinks in the know-how of handling the influx of workers eager to go home, catching multiple departments off guard.
“The problem is that there is no clarity and everyone is putting the responsibility on the police,” a police officer said, referring to the incident where a huge crowd of around 6,000 workers thronged Bannappa park based on a rumour that trains are ready to ferry them to their native places. This, when the Karnataka government is yet to get approval from its counterparts.
“These workers have been rendered jobless, without proper food and essentials during the lockdown, and are frustrated and want to return home. Added to this are pending dues. Though senior IAS and IPS officers have been assigned as nodal officers, there is no plan and they are depending on the local police for information and guidance,” a police officer alleged, adding that multiple departments need to have a plan of action with details of labour camps.
Approval awaited
One of the nodal officers appointed by the government to coordinate with other States said States were yet to give approval for migrants to return from Karnataka. “It is a sensitive and complex issue. We are contacting people who are to be sent. If people have to go there, the incoming State has to approve that. Post that, transport has to be arranged, and once they reach the destination, the SOP of screening and quarantine needs to be followed. All this, while maintaining social distancing,” the officer said.
“We understand their pain and agony. So we try and prioritise cases. People need to understand that even if they manage to board a train without following procedure, they can get turned back from that State,” the officer said, urging workers to use the Seva Sindhu facility, and appealed to NGOs to help them utilise it.
