TN CM Stalin reaches out to migrant workers

Reaching out to the migrant workers community in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday interacted with a group of labourers at a latex unit here.
The Chief Minister’s move comes in the wake of apprehensions among the migrant workforce over alleged fake videos of attacks on some of them in the state, which had even prompted the Bihar government to depute an official delegation to take stock of the situation, reports PTI.
Stalin visited Kanam Latex, involved in making hand gloves, in the district and interacted with the migrant workers, enquiring about their well-being, an official release said.
He discussed with them matters like how long they were staying in Tamil Nadu, if the local people treated them well and whether they had to face any issues.
The workers told him they had a good work atmosphere, some were staying for more than five years in TN, many with their families and that the local people were treating them with brotherhood, the release added.
The workers told him they did not have any fears and that they felt safe like staying in their native places, while acknowledging the help extended by the state government, it said.
“The CM asked them not to fall for rumours and that the state government was providing workers from all states a safe work environment,” the release said.
Tamil Nadu has a sizeable number of migrant worker population, with many from states like Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal among others being employed in various sectors including construction.
Meanwhile, the four-member Bihar government delegation met officials and workers in Chennai and expressed satisfaction over the state government’s actions after the alleged fake videos emerged. It had earlier travelled to Tirupur and Coimbatore, both of which employ a large number of migrant labourers.
D Balamurugan, Bihar Rural Development Secretary, told reporters here the TN government acted after the videos started circulating.
“There were some apprehensions after the videos emerged but now things have been clarified,” he added.
In Patna, senior DMK leader and MP T R Baalu called on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and handed over a report sent by Stalin on the steps taken by the government to protect migrant workers from States including Bihar.
DMK’s Deputy General Secretary A Raja hit out at Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan and said that the LJP leader may do his politics of being “BJP’s B-Team”, in Bihar and not in Tamil Nadu.
DMK chief Stalin’s Dravidian model of social justice-led inclusive growth would help set up a regime of secular and progressive forces at the Centre following Lok Sabha polls next year, Raja said in a statement.
Paswan was in Chennai on March 6 and he had called on Governor R N Ravi and submitted a memorandum on the issue while demanding a thorough probe on allegations of attack on Bihar workers.
Tamil Nadu starts 24/7 helpline for Bihar migrant workers
Karur administration authorities have announced to start a ‘helpline’ service to ensure the safety and protection of Bihar-based migrant workers in the district.
Karur District Collector Dr T Prabhushankar IAS and SP E Sundaravathanam on Monday made the announcement while releasing a video to create awareness among migrant workers to ensure their safety.
“Karur District has introduced a free helpline for the migrant workers who work in Karur,” SP Sundaravathanam said in the video message.
He said, “Helpline numbers:- 94981-00786 and 04324-296299 will be available for 24/7 and even Hindi speaking people will also be present at the helpline desk for migrant workers’ assitance.”
“People who spread fake news and rumours about Northern Migrant Workers on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Telegram will be caught and immediate action will be taken against them”, he added.
Talking about the people living in Karur, Collector Prabhushankar said, “Many people from other states are residing in Tamil Nadu. They are living in the state peacefully. Many migrant labours are working in the Karur district.”
The Collector added, “There’s news of ‘attacks’ on migrant labours but all such news is rumour and fake. There’re district helplines that are active”.
On Monday, stepping up the investigation into the rumours of the alleged ‘attack’ on the Bihar migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu, the police of both states swung into action with the Bihar Police issuing the preservation notice to social media platforms while the Tamil Nadu Police is conducting the reach out programmes to the labourers to allay their fears.
The Bihar Police has asked the platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Gmail to save the links of the posts in connection with the rumours of the alleged ‘attack’, to help in the probe in the future.