Plantation owners in Kodagu asked to furnish details about labourers from NE

Madikeri: A stream of complaints from residents of the hilly district about Bangladeshis and Rohingyas from Burma allegedly entering Kodagu illegally under the guise of coffee plantation labourers has prompted police to launch a documentation drive. Kodagu district police have asked plantation owners to furnish information about those workers in their employ who hail from Assam and other Northeastern states. While allegations of migrants from neighbouring countries illegally entering the district have been doing the rounds in the district for the past one year, but it was the recent murder of a labourer from Assam that has acted as a catalyst for the police force to initiate this drive.
Kodagu superintendent of police Suman D Pennekar confirmed to TOI that they had asked plantation owners to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to provide details about labourers from Northeastern states. “There is no order. We are doing this as a precautionary measure following the murder of an Assamese labourer recently,” Pannekar said.

District police estimate that there are around 5,000 to 6,000 individuals employed in coffee plantations. “They started to come here seeking work around seven to eight years ago. Since we have no register with the exact details, it is hard for us to even speculate on the number,” said police sources.

In fact, resentment and discontent are rife among a section of Kodagu residents, who feel that they have been deprived of employment opportunities since plantation owners prefer to hire them, since they are willing to work more hours for the same wages.

Gopal Appaiah, a plantation owner in Haleri, said that workers from Assam, and its neighbouring states were more than willing to work for three or four hours more although their wages were on a par with what was paid to the locals. “The problem is that many local workers are not very keen on working on plantations. And the workers from the Northeast are filling these vacancies,” Appaiah said.

He added that, while middlemen were initially involved in helping those from the Northeast obtain employment in Kodagu, the workers started arriving by themselves from Bengaluru or Kerala later on. “They subsist in rather difficult conditions,” said Appaiah.

Former vice-chairman of the Coffee Board of India Bose Mandanna said that the drive launched by police was a step in the right direction. Pointing out that coffee was a labour intensive crop, Mandanna said, “There is huge demand for cheap labour. The middlemen get workers from Northeastern parts of the country, and get a commission. But the problem is that the workers do not stay in one location. There are chances of them fleeing. Also, there have been reports of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas from Burma illegally entering the district. So, if police are equipped with information about their antecedents, it will ensure that the workers are not involved in illegal activities.”

Mandanna alleged that many labourers had even managed to procure Aadhaar Cards by furnishing false information.

Madikeri MLA and BJP leader Appachu Ranjan welcomed the drive. “I have been raising this issue, and have spoken about this even in the assembly. I am glad to see police have finally taken some action in this regard,” Ranjan told TOI.