Srinagar : Authorities have put 20-30 non-local labourers in each room in various educational institutions of Kashmir, who fear they may get infected.
There are at least 20,000 non-local labourers stranded in Kashmir. However, these have been craving for basic facilities.
“There are no arrangements for us. Over 20 people are lodged in each room. We fear we may get infected,” a migrant worker from Bihar told Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS). “I am a mason and had earned less than Rs 2000 since I came to came in first week of March. All the money has exhausted. We are running short of the money,” he added.
Another labourer from West Bengal, who is lodged in a government building in Pulwama told KINS that nobody was concerned about them.
“If anyone gets infected, he can disseminate it to others. We (labourers) are prone to get infected as we don’t sanitize ourselves. How can we avoid any possible transmission of the virus when we are not able to maintain any distance,” he asked.
The non-local labourers come Kashmir to do works like cooking food, construction works, cutting hair in saloons, farming, selling food and other items on footpaths, and other labouring works. They had left Kashmir last year in August and starting coming back in March.
Meanwhile, Labour Commissioner, J&K, Abdul Rashid Var said several initiatives are being taken by the administration to ensure good mental health of migrant labourers for which several counselling sessions are being organised.
“The counsellors have visited 142 camps and shelter homes across J&K where they have provided counselling to 5761 floating population of migrant labourers stuck in different parts of J&K,” he said.
Besides, the Labour Commissioner said 143866 Board and Other Construction Workers have been handed out Rs 1000 each amounting to Rs 14.36 crore. “We are leaving no stone unturned in reaching out to these workers who constitute the poor section of the society,” he said.
He said in Anantnag district the disbursement of Rs 1000 was made to 11463 workers, in Budgam to 8263 workers, in Bandipora to 9269, in Baramulla to 17566, in Doda to 4481, in Ganderbal to 5570, in Jammu to 12677, in Kargil to 3084, in Kishtwar to 4320, in Kathua to 3359, in Kulgam to 8479, in Kupwara to 12977, in Leh to 3090, in Poonch to 4529, in Pulwama to 6123, in Rajouri to 2053, in Ramban to 6781, in Reasi to 580, in Samba to 2446, in Shopian to 2433, in Srinagar to 10379, and in Udhampur the amount was disbursed in favor of 3944 workers.
He said the Labour Department has provided ration to 95,511 labourers in Jammu division and 27,491 in Kashmir Division.(KINS)
