A section of the migrant workers at Perumbavoor staged a protest on Monday against the quality and amount of food they were served by the panchayat, resulting in an intervention by the police and the District Collector.
A worker from Murshidabad, staying with migrant workers at a colony near Palakkattuthazham, said a kitchen was set up at the colony on Monday.
Food issue
“We were given breakfast which was not sufficient. At lunch time, we were served rice and curry which did not taste good. In the afternoon, workers stepped outside to protest against this,” he said. For the past few days, the owner of the building provided them with groceries and they had been cooking the food they liked for themselves, he said.
Another worker from the area said those manning the kitchen were struggling to provide food to the 3,000-odd workers in the area. “Even by around 3 p.m. some of us were waiting for food,” he said.
Vazhakulam panchayat officials set up the kitchen at the colony on Monday morning after District Police Chief (DPC) K. Karthick and other officials visited the area on Sunday in the wake of a protest by migrant workers at Payippad. Panchayat president Shereena Basheer said the situation suddenly flared up in the afternoon.
“There was enough food and we were preparing more. Even a machine to make rotis was set up at the kitchen. When food is being prepared for such a large number of people, workers should cooperate,” she said. District Collector S. Suhas visited the area along with the DPC.
The Collector assured the workers that sufficient food of their choice would be provided, since arrangements could not be made for them to go home during the lockdown.
The police said fake social media messages that the workers would be sent home triggered the unrest at the colony at Palakkattuthazham.
