Industry representatives and local officials in Tamil Nadu say that workers from north India are going home for festivals like Holi and Chaitra Navratri and the fake news of attacks on these migrant workers has nothing to do with them returning home.
Representatives of the textile industry said that at least 400 workers are going to their home states in North India every day from Tirupur alone. Tiruppur is a major center of textile business. There are reports of migrant laborers going to their home states from other industrial cities as well.
Although some people believe that they are leaving for fear of attack, but industry representatives and local officials say that these workers are going to their homes on festivals like Holi and Chaitra Navratri. According to him, the fake news of attack on laborers from outside states has nothing to do with the laborers returning home.
Meanwhile, a special team of officers from Bihar interacted with the migrant laborers and contractors on Sunday. These officials asked people not to pay heed to rumors of an attack. A team of officers had also come from Jharkhand, which on Monday spoke to industry representatives and workers and assessed the situation. Bihar Rural Development Secretary Balamurugan D told reporters on Sunday that he was satisfied with the steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government for the safety of migrant labourers.
Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA) executive secretary Shiva Swami Sakthivel said, “There has been no incident of violence against migrant laborers in Tiruppur. At least 400 people are going out of this city everyday but the reason for this is festivals like Holi and Navratri. These people are not returning to their homes out of fear. At least 2 lakh migrant laborers work in this major center of textile business in the state.
According to sources, the local police also went to the railway station and asked the laborers the reason for leaving the city, but no one said that they were leaving due to fear of violence. According to the 2011 census, about 35 lakh migrant laborers worked in the state, of which seven lakh were women. According to estimates, now the number of migrant laborers working from other states would have crossed 50 lakhs.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has assured Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that migrant laborers will not be harmed as they are contributing to the development of the state. Sakthivel said, “On Holi and Navratri, people often go to their homes in North India. We have assured our employees that there is nothing to fear. Local authorities have also indicated that there have been no reports of violence against migrant laborers from the region.
There were no reports of migrant laborers being targeted from other industrial areas of the state as well. Workers from Ambattur Industrial Estate, adjacent to Chennai, are also going to their states on the upcoming festivals. Ambattur Industrial Estate is the largest small scale industrial area in South Asia.
Nallangili, president of the Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association, said, “No untoward incident has been reported from Ambattur. There is no concern about security in this area. Local authorities are in touch with migrant laborers and industry and have assured them of safety.
S Irudaya Rajan, president of the Institute of Migration Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, said, “At least a third of the people in Tamil Nadu are migrants. In a city like Chennai, about 40 per cent of the total population will be migrants. Migrants are giving impetus to the economy of the state. Violence on them will hinder the development of the state.
