Desperate to get their projects off the ground, contractors have given labourers assurance that they will be taken care of this time around: their transport to the city is fully paid for, meals and accommodation are being provided for free at or near the worksites, and some have even promised to arr
Desperate to get their projects off the ground, contractors have given labourers assurance that they will be taken care of this time around: their transport to the city is fully paid for, meals and accommodation are being provided for free at or near the worksites, and some have even promised to arrange for their transport back home were a lockdown to return. With the money that would have gone into paying for their rent and meals, the workers said they are now able to save around 25 per cent more.
One sub-contractor, Bridge Engineering Works, even flew in 15 labourers from Kolkata on June 6 to help reconstruct Kalyan’s Patri Pul, the 104-year-old bridge that was razed in 2018, paying as much as Rs 9,000 each in airfare.
Full-fledged work at construction sites is likely to begin only after Diwali. “We have about 200 workers at our Malad construction site, but the government has only allowed completion of pre-monsoon works. Actual construction hasn’t even started,” said Bharat Dhuppar, CEO (western region) of Omkar Developers.
Although the workers have started trickling in, the state government has no data on which sectors are benefiting the most. While the Thane-Belapur Industries Association felt that the migrants’ return was a harbinger of economic activities returning to pre-Covid-19 scenarios— its president Bipin Shah expected full-scale operations to resume by the first week of August—several prominent developers are not as hopeful.