TIRUPPUR: Tiruppur city police have been put on high alert following guidelines from the police headquarters that textile workers from Bangladesh may have illegally entered the district in the guise of North-Indian workers and have joined the knitwear industry.
Police Commissioner S Lakshmi told TNIE, “We have also received an alert in this regard. However, this is a regular thing. The city police have been alerted as a precaution. The respective inspectors have issued instructions to the industrial establishments because all the workers cannot be suspected.”
Recently, after the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma mentioned that textile workers from Bangladesh have been infiltrating South India. Especially Tamil Nadu and with Tiruppur being the knitwear capital of India, the industrial sector said that it is paying special attention to monitor those entering the district illegally from Bangladesh.
K M Subramanian, Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA) president, said, “The textile industry is one of the largest sectors in Bangladesh. So, those coming illegally or as refugees from there are likely to target Tiruppur, Karur, and Coimbatore districts. Hence, we have advised the knitwear manufacturing companies to ensure that correct Aadhaar details are collected from workers joining. We have also instructed the manufacturers to verify the Aadhaar details of those who are already working in the companies and have advised them to report if they find anything suspicious.”
A Sakthivel, Apparel Export Promotion Council (Southern Regional) in-charge and the honorary president of TEA, said, “The need for labourers in the Tiruppur industrial sector is never-ending. Even if we get 20,000 people today, we will hire them.” He added, “About 8 lakh people are being employed through this sector and about 2.5 lakh of them belong to North-Indian states. However, while recruiting workers, their details including their Aadhaar are collected. Now we have also sent the alert video sent by the Assam CM to all the manufacturers. We have also advised them to confirm the Aadhaar details of the newly recruited workers through police as well if it is necessary.”
The arrest of Bangladeshi’s staying illegally is a frequent occurrence in Tiruppur. On August 17, three Bangladeshi’s who were staying illegally in Perumanallur were arrested.