HYDERABAD/SANGAREDDY: Tension prevailed in IIT Hyderabad premises on Wednesday morning, as more than 2,000 migrant construction labourers agitated against their employers, the engineering and construction firm L&T, for forcing them to live in poor conditions without enough food and proper facilities amid the lockdown.
The agitated labourers even clashed with the police who arrived at the spot, injuring at least one police officer and damaging a police vehicle.
The incident occurred as L&T officials told the labourers to continue work of construction of the IIT Hyderabad buildings, as central government recently exempted construction activity from lockdown, if labourers are available at the construction site itself.
However, the labourers who belong to various states including UP, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal got angry and demanded that they be sent back home.
They alleged that since lockdown began L&T did not supply them with food rations like chilli, oil, salt, pulses or tamarind and they received only rice provided by Telangana government apart from some potatoes.
They also said that all of them were forced to live in cramped small tin huts, with one hut housing as many as 10-20 people in the hot weather.
They got angry that under such pathetic conditions they were also forced to work and threatened that they will not be paid if they do not continue work.
As information of the labourers agitating against their employers reached police, some police officials arrived at the spot. However, the police and labourers had heated arguments and the police came under attack from the labourers.
Sangareddy rural police, ASI, Sanganna was injured in the clashes, which reportedly left 2-3 other police officials also injured.
However, after this senior police official of the district arrived at the spot and had a dialogue with the labourers following which situation calmed down. The labourers now plan to approach the district collector to raise their issues.