Migrant workers gather at Pune Railway Station on Sunday evening to travel back home. (Express photo by Ashish Kale) Alarmed over the possibility of another exodus of migrant workers due to the Covid restrictions imposed across the state, Pune CREDAI has urged workers not to panic and remain at the construction sites. Anil Pharande, president of CREDAI Pune Metro, has also announced a vaccination drive for construction workers in the area.
Migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, who constitute the majority of workers at construction sites, have started leaving Pune. While the pace of migration is lower than last year. Sachin Mengale, a labour leader working with the Bharatiya Kamgar Sangh (BKS), the labour wing of RSS, said several migrant labourers from construction sites, at the periphery of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, have started leaving the city.
In a press statement, Pharande said the realtor’s body had undertaken a drive to make workers aware about Covid-appropriate behavior. “Their stay at construction sites has been improved with better hygiene conditions. Frequency of regular health check-ups has been drastically increased. Very soon, CREDAI Pune Metro is starting a vaccination drive for construction workers with help from PMRDA, PCMC and PMC…,” read the statement.
Pharande admitted that a large number of migrant workers may want to go back to their hometowns, due to fear of job losses and health concerns. But CREDAI Pune Metro members have assured to take care of them and have appealed to them to stay back.
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