Mangaluru: A report in the Times of India today, suggests that the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai), Mangaluru is looking at various options of bringing back skilled Migrant Labour to Mangaluru including a chartered flight.
The moment the Lockdown was eased, there was a rush by the skilled Migrant labour – carpenters, benders, painters, interior decorators, masons, [polishers and the like mostly in the Construction sector – to return to their home towns. That too was a struggle for them and was accomplished only because of the support of NGOs.
But now that the Lockdown has eased, and economic activity has resumed, project completion is the key for the builder and the customer – both of whose finances are in the doldrums. Interest payments are climbing for both and moratoriums will not help but exert more pressure. Naturally, the developers are looking to complete their projects as soon as possible.
The president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai), Mangaluru, Naveen Cardoza, told the Times of India that workers from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar accounted for nearly 90 percent of the construction workforce. “Skilled labourers like carpenters and benders are mostly from West Bengal. We had expected that they would be back here in July, assuming train services would resume. Since the operations are likely to be delayed further and we are under immense pressure to complete projects on time, we are exploring other options to get the labourers back.”
He said five labourers were flown into Mangaluru via Bengaluru as part of an experimental run. “This week, depending on the availability of flights, five more are expected to arrive. The ones who have reached are in quarantine, and we have set up similar facilities on our sites to house the others,” said Cardoza, adding that he was in talks with a private carrier to ferry 72 labourers to Mangaluru. Cardoza told the Times of India that most labourers had gone back seized by panic. Nearly half of the 300-strong labour force on one of his sites had returned home, he added. “We tried hard to convince them, but they thought they were going to die and said they preferred to die at home. However, they are keen on returning now. They are in contact with the facilitator, who, in turn, is in touch with us. Many labourers have intimated to us their inability to travel,” Cardoza said according to the report
