The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel will now act as interpreters and assist the Kerala Police in communicating with migrant labourers and understanding their requirements better.
In the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, the State government has been taking care of the migrant workers, numbering around 4 lakh. They are accommodated in 12,992 camps. However, the police have been struggling to communicate with them.
Request by police
The Kerala Police had requested the service of CRPF, BSF, and ITBP personnel who will visit migrant labourers’ camps and speak to them in Assamese, Odia, and Bengali. The forces immediately deputed over 100 people. Sudesh Kumar, Additional Director General of Police, the nodal officer in this regard, said the personnel would closely work with the police. M.J. Vijay, Deputy Inspector General of RTC, CRPF, Peringome, said 40 personnel from Peringome camp alone were serving as interpreters at camps in Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad and Palakkad. “The personnel can help bridge the communication gap between the State government and migrant workers,” he said. BSF DIG Baby Joseph said upon receiving the request from the Kerala Police they had prepared a list of personnel to be deployed in the camps. “We have around 45 personnel who can speak these languages,” he said.