Karnataka minister bats for law to regulate inter-state labour movement

Bengaluru: Labour Minister Santosh Lad on Tuesday advocated for a law to regulate the arrivals of labourers from other states into Karnataka.

Lad said this in the wake of the alleged kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old girl in Hubballi by Ritesh Kumar, who hailed from Bihar’s Patna and was killed in police firing.

“People come from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. We won’t get their details,” Lad told reporters. “We need a law…how do we regulate the movement of inter-state labourers. This needs discussion so that a robust system is put in place,” he said.

Earlier, during a meeting with industry representatives, Lad asked them to obtain information about contract workers they have hired from other states.

“Those coming from other states…how do we track and identify them? It’s easy to do so in the organised sector. The challenge is with the unorganised sector. Agricultural labourers come by train and bus,” Lad said.

On Monday, Home Minister G Parameshwara said he would talk to Lad about this. He said workforce coming to Karnataka from other states could not be stopped, but there was a definite need to take note of criminal activities involving them and take necessary measures.