KOCHI: Musharaf, Nazar, Hannan, Chanthu, Lattu and Sherif have been working at various construction sites at Chittethukara and Chembumukka for the last eight years. They were having rosy days till November 8.
On that day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currencies, pushing them into a state of ‘note crunch.’
“Initially, 70 people, including me, were staying near Chittethukara. Now, only 30 of us are remaining and the rest have gone back to Bengal. Most of them were working at construction sites. But days after the government’s decision, they were asked by their employer to go on leave. They have not been given their wages yet. The employer gave them old currencies but they did not accept them,” said Ali Hasan Mundal, a Bengal native.
Hasan, who is working in a fish stall, has so far been in the safe zone. “I am getting my daily wages. But others are struggling,” he said. Ali’s is not a lone case. There are thousands of migrants working in the unskilled sector - hotels, meat stalls and cleaning works in apartments. Courtesy the scarcity of new currency and the withdrawal limit, people are hesitating to call them to work.
“We have not sent our workers back on humanitarian grounds since many of them have been working with us for almost five years,” said Ashraf P H of Marhaba Hotel, Manappattiparambu.
Mohammed Nadakkal of Fresh ‘n’ Fish in Chittethukara, Kakkanad, said they would have to pay Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 every day to their staff. “The sale is declining. We are also finding it difficult to buy fish from the agents as most of the transactions are made in hard currency,” he said. From Chittethukara, nearly 300 workers had left to their native places. “We have customers from other states, working as masons, helpers and at various construction sites. They buy milk and bread etc from our shop. But now, they are not seen around often,” said T V Santhosh of Kairali Bakers.
Mubaraq Islam, a 19-year-old from Assam, who is working at a chicken stall in Aluva, detailed his struggle to send money for his father’s operation. “I don’t have an account. My father has an account. I transferred the money with my owner’s help but my father was not able to withdraw it. The banks were too crowded and the ATMs too did not have cash in my village,” he said.
Muhammed Abdul Sathar, a 20-year-old from Murshidabad, Bengal, who is working at a construction site, said he earns Rs 500 per day but did not have an account. “when I tried to open an account, the bank officials told me to bring a Malayali witness. Now, I am spending more time at the bank queue,” he said.