Pollachi native, Velmurugan, 60, a casual labourer came to Kochi in 2011 in search of work. Since his arrival, a concrete slab over the canal at Kaloor has been his home. He gets to sleep for barely three hours every night which is spent swatting the pesky mosquitoes, braving rain and cold with just a blanket to cover himself with.
It will cost him around Rs 3,000 per month to rent a room, an expenditure he can not afford due to lack of regular employment. This is not the story of Velumurugan alone. Thousands like him are spending their days and nights under the open skies in the city.
All this thanks to projects like night shelter, meant to provide accommodation to the needy, remaining a pipe dream. “After all the hustle and bustle subsides on the city roads at around 1 am we go to sleep and wake up at around 4 am. We use the bathroom of a temple near Kaloor for basic needs,” he said.
Migrants in the city sleep on the pavements at Kaloor, SRM road, near South Railway Station, MG road and KSRTC bus stand. Women and children also can be found asleep on the pavements. Most of these migrant labourers are employed as farm hands, masons, carpenters, domestic and construction workers. People from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and North East are the majority among them.
Around 200 labourers have made the pavements at Kaloor their home. They begin occupying the footpaths and other places from 8.30 pm onwards.
The officials with the Labour Department pointed out that majority of these migrant workers are not registered and hence, the government is finding it difficult to provide them the benefits under various welfare schemes. “Migrant labourers come in groups and camp at some convenient spot in the city from where they are picked up in the early hours by contractors. Besides, they don’t have a regular employer and move from one place to another,” said an officer.
Meanwhile, a senior official with the Labour Department in the district said that the government has mooted a housing project for the migrants and it will be completed soon. The government also intends to implement a special insurance scheme and issue insurance cards to them. Once the scheme is implemented, the government will be able to prepare a data base of the migrants.
The district authorities also have identified a place to construct a hostel for the migrants. “Though we had identified many locations including several spots in Perumbavoor, the plan could not be executed due to protests from the local residents. However hard we try or whatever facilities we provide, the migrants will never be satisfied with their new accommodations due to cultural difference,” an officer said.
With migrants sleeping on footpaths, pedestrians are finding it difficult to navigate them. Also, there is always a chance that a law and order situation may crop up due to the likelihood of anti-social elements gaining entry into these migrant camps. If so, the security of women and night commuters will be threatened.
