Workers lock up company reps to show their poor living conditions

Tension gripped Amruthahalli in northeastern Bengaluru on Sunday after over 500 construction workers allegedly locked up two representatives of their employer and pelted police cars with stones.

The migrant workers, employed by a building construction company, were demanding that they be sent back to their native places by special trains like others. They allegedly locked up two engineers of the company when they arrived at their quarters to distribute groceries, a senior police officer said. The workers wanted the engineers to personally see their squalid living conditions, the official explained.

More than 1,000 workers have been living in the tin sheds at Amruthahalli. They have been working at construction sites across Northeast Bengaluru, especially in and around the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). There are about 200 workers from Jharkhand, over 700 from West Bengal and another 250 from Bihar.

Police soon rushed to the spot but the workers were so angry that they pelted patrol cars with stones. Police had to seek reinforcements to bring the situation under control and cordon off the area, the officer added.

In order to pacify the protesters, police roped in volunteers of Swaraj Abhiyan, a socio-political organisation which had been interacting with the workers since the beginning of the lockdown.

Explaining the reasons for the delay in sending the workers home, the officer said travel arrangements had been made division-wise. While over 100 migrants will be sent home on Monday, travel arrangements for others will be made depending on the availability of trains.

“The situation is a little tense but under control,” the officer said.

The authorities have promised to send the workers from Jharkhand and West Bengal on Monday and others by May 15.

No complaint was filed over the incident, according to the Amruthahalli police inspector.