E-Paper
At least 15,800 construction labourers provided with food in Pune at work sites
Food is being delivered at 95 construction sites; member builders take steps to ensure workers do not return to native places
Additional labour commissioner, Pune division, Shailendra B Pol, has said that mid-day meals were being delivered by the government to about 15,850 workers at 95 construction sites in the city.
At many work sites, dinner was being taken care of by the member builders of Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India (Credai, Pune chapter). For almost a week, the workers were being provided with their meals and asked not to rush back to their villages, Credai, Pune said.
Badri Alam Khan 23, a native of Jharkhand who is working as a fitter at the Kohinooor Sapphire site, said, “I could not go back to my village because of this lockdown but it’s OK. We get food from the builder and the ‘thekedaar’ has given me Rs 1,000 per week for small expenses and essentials that I may need.”
Sangita Dhruv from Chhattisgarh who waters the slabs with her husband Krishna and 18-year-old daughter Choti, said, “I have two younger daughters back home and I worry about them. We get food here and our needs are looked after. But what about my girls? I asked the contractor for some money to send home to my other two children. He gave me Rs 3,000 and I have sent it home.”
Suhas Merchant, president, Credai Pune said, “When the 21-day lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24, many migrant workers started fleeing the city, overcrowding the railway stations and bus stops. But we made an attempt to stop that.”
While he estimated that about 50,000 workers had stayed back in the city, Pol said, the labour commissionerate’s estimate was about 15,800.
Satish Magar, former president, Credai and managing director, Magarpatta, said while it was good that the government was providing mid-day meals to labourers, no provision had been made for dinner.
“We have been supplying food from day 1 to all our workers and their family members. Which is why none of them have left for their villages,” he said.
JP Shroff who heads Credai’s labour committee said, “The government used to provide mid-day meals to about 10,000 workers before the lockdown was announced. However soon after the lockdown was announced it was temporarily shut down. We decided that our people could not be left to starve.”
Over the eight days of the lockdown, Credai managed to procure rice, dal (lentils), atta (flour), oil, masalas (spices) from the wholesale market and delivered it to about 20,000 workers and their families at 100 sites. “The task of delivery was a huge challenge since there was no transport available. No trucks to carry food to our labourers on these sites,” Merchant said.
Member-builders of Credai were roped in to provide their on-site trucks, tempos and drivers. “We also asked some transporters to assist us with drivers. Only then were we able to deliver food packets to the 100 odd sites,” he said.
To manage the logistics of this initiative, some of the builders sent their staffers to certain central points like Hinjewadi and Ahmednagar road from where the food packets could be collected and delivered to individual member sites. “Over seven days, Credai spent approximately Rs 25 lakh on food,” Merchant said.
A week later, the government announced that it would provide mid-day meals to construction workers. Additional labour commissioner Pol said Credai was asked to provide the number of labourers at various sites. “They gave us a number of 50,000 workers in Pune. But on day 1 when we went with the food packets, we saw that where they said there were 150 workers, there were only 40 to 50. I appeal to all builders to please report the correct numbers to us so that food does not get wasted,” he said.
On Thursday, the labour commissionerate delivered 15,836 packets at 95 sites.
Atul Goel of Goel Ganga Group, said his estimate was that there were about 470 workers on his project sites along with family members, which meant, additional 250 to 300 more. “We have been supplying them with food and sanitation material on a weekly basis. We already have brought stock for 25 days and will continue to do so,” he said.
At builder Vineet Goyal’s sites, (Kohinoor Group) about 1,200 of the 2,000 workers had left for their villages before the lockdown. “Another 200 moved in with their relatives in-and-around the city. As a result, we now have 600 workers, which includes family members at our three live sites. We are providing them food grains on a weekly basis and making their payments every fortnight. In fact, the contractor told me not to pay them monthly as they would probably spend the money given the time they have on their hands. However, given the situation, we have released payment to the contractor in advance for them to take care of his labour.”
Raj Bhansali of Clover Builders said he has tied up with a local grocery store near his projects at Kharadi and Undri. “These stores deliver to the labourers what they need to them and we pay for it. Their salaries are paid on the fifth of every month and they will be paid on the fifth,” he said.
Credai appeals for police pass to visit labour camps
Credai has appealed to the police commissioner to give each member a pass to visit their sites where the workers are living. Suhas Merchant, president, Credai, said, “Our workers are going through a trying time. It is important that someone from our office is there to look after their needs, besides counsel them on safety and hygiene. Currently, it is very difficult for our supervisors to visit various sites.”
