THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When farmers in Punjab hamstrung by a crippling shortage of farmhands had sent buses to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to bring migrant workers to the state, the news was greeted with surprise in Kerala. But the time is up for Kerala as well, to think of ways to bring the workers to work sites. Architect I K Sham, owner of Repair Kochi, a renovation and maintenance division of Architect IK Sham and Associates, who was desperate to find labourers for his construction business, recently approached the authorities seeking permission to bring in guest workers.
“I had called up a DISHA number seeking institutional quarantine facility for migrants ready to come back. But the authorities told me that no such facility is available for migrants. I am ready to foot the cost of bringing in migrants and their quarantine. The DISHA authorities told me to ensure the facilities myself,” he said.
“The protest by locals is the biggest challenge I have to face. Even under normal circumstances, people are not happy at the prospect of migrants residing in their neighbourhood. In such a situation, how can I arrange paid quarantine in densely populated areas in Kerala for workers from north India ? The government should help us arrange affordable quarantine facility for workers ready to return,” he said. This incident raises two questions.
First, the cost of availing migrants’ service is expected to go up which will be passed on to people. Second, will Covid lead to a situation where migrant workers are assured better working terms? P Indira Devi, agri-economist and former Director of Research, Kerala Agricultural University, said reports from Punjab indicate that paying extra for transportation and accommodation of the workers will push up production cost. Benoy Peter, executive director, Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), said the post-lockdown period will witness some changes in the migration pattern.
The launch of the `50,000 crore employment scheme by the Centre to provide income support to migrant workers, who returned to their home states during the Covid lockdown, will have a bearing on migration at least for a brief period. A CMID study found that if the migrant workers get a monthly income of `10,000 in their native village, it will prevent their urban migration. However, considering the systemic delay in getting the fruits of a scheme is expected to drive the migrants back to Kerala once lockdown is unlocked fully as the migrants, who had worked in Kerala at least once, know the employeefriendly climate of the state. So the present issues will not have a long-lasting effect on Kerala, he believes.