Unseen hands that toil day and night

Speaking to a few workers seemed a near impossible task with contractors either not
allowing an interaction or saying “get an official letter”. However, Deccan Herald managed to speak to a few around the M G Road and C M H Road stations.  Dipanko Marijaa from Jharkhand was working on the old Plaza Theatre side of the M G Road station in scorching heat. He said: “I have been working here for two years now. Even though the contractors pay us on time, we have many other things to worry about.”

What Marijaa is concerned about is whether his family is keeping well and safe back home and about when he can travel home, which he has not been able to do since coming to Bangalore. Most of the other workers were apprehensive about revealing their names.

One worker near M G Road station said the pay was not all that high for a project worth Rs 12,000 crore. The workers put in around nine hours everyday and usually work for two weeks at a stretch without a break. Taking leave or an off is difficult for them.

When asked about the pay the workers get, BMRCL spokesperson B S Chavan, without quoting figures, said: “The pay to the workers is as per law and we ensure everything is according to law. Safety measures are also very important, which we have ensured.”

However, safety has slipped a few times causing serious and even fatal injuries to workers appointed by contractors of BMRCL. In all, the project has a total of eight contractors, of whom six employ construction workers and the other two are systems contractors.

Around 3,500 construction labourers are involved in Phase 1 of Namma Metro. But how many of them will be seen during the inauguration on October 20? Very few, if any.

Ticket fares

STATIONS                               SV         IN    Ul      TC            MG
Baiyappanahalli (BY)                 10    12    12       14           15    
S V Road     (SV)    -                      -    10    12       12         14
Indiranagar     (IN)                    12    -        10      12         12    
Ulsoor     (UL)                           12    12        -      10          12        
Trinity Circle     (TC)                  14    12       12      -           10  
MG Road     (MG)                       15    14      12      12           -