TUMAKURU: As many as 316 labourers, mostly from Raichur and Yadgir districts including some thirty children and hundred women were brought to the SC/ST hostel in Tumkur on Saturday night.
"The hostel with two blocks could accommodate a maximum of 200 people and now it's 316 people concentrated in one spot", an official told TNIE at the spot.
"The PSI promised us that we will be shifted to our places and brought us in three buses but to our shock the place is not livable. There are only two blocks with ten toilets", rued Nagaraj, a construction labourer who was brought along with twenty fellow labourers to Yadgir in a luggage carrier vehicle.
Like him, almost all of the labourers were heading to their native three days ago, when they were blocked at Tavarekere police limits near Sira and put up in Morarji Desai hostel and other hostels. As Sira reported a death and a positive case, all of them were shifted here.
On Sunday morning when the officials visited the hostel, they got into a verbal duel as the labourers had not bathed for several days and insisted that permission be given to go home. " Instead of shifting us here, the administration should have helped us with transportation to reach our villages", a woman said, complaining of lack of hygiene.
Circle police inspector Parvathamma, instructed them that they cannot move out of the facility as inter-district movement is restricted. "We will help to improve the hygiene of the hostel in co-ordination with the concerned city corporation authorities", she promised. The revenue department officials ensured the morning breakfast was supplied.
"The local residents may also start complaining as they had come from 'red zone' Sira", remarked Raveesh Kumar, a former ABVP leader.