E-Paper
Oriya labourers leave Assam after closure of brick kilns
Over 1000 migrant Oriya daily wage earners have left for their home state as they have been rendered jobless following kilns closure by the Govt.
Over 1000 migrant Oriya daily wage earners, employed in brick fields in upper Assam's Tinsukia district, have left for their home state as they have been rendered jobless following kilns closure by the government.
Their exit was, however, not due to fear of the ongoing anti-Bihari ULFA violence in the state, official sources in Tinsukia said.
The closure, ordered since November 24, has rendered the floating Oriya labourers jobless forcing them to return home as they had no other means of livelihood.
These labourers were paid their dues and travel expenses by the kiln owners to return home, sources said.
The brickfield workers, both Biharis and Oriyas, were moved to relief camps by the district authorities to prevent any attacks on them following the killing of 11 labourers in two brick-kilns at Bordubi town of Tinsukia on Monday.
Brick kiln workers in lower Assam were also brought to relief camps and many of them have already left the state.
Most of the workers in brick-kilns in the state hail from Muzaffarpur and Chapra districts of Bihar as well as Kendrapara in Orissa.
The closure of the klins is expected to adversely affect the building construction activity and create heavy losses for the brickfield owners as this is the production season in the state.
