KOZHIKODE: Migrant labourers have started leaving Mavoor after the grama panchayat ultimatum to illegal stayers to leave by Monday. Besides, there is simmering anger against them among residents. The reporting of four suspected and two confirmed cases of cholera at Thengilakkadavu in Mavoor led to the situation. The test at Center for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) has detected the presence of vibrio cholerae in the water sample.
According to sources, there are nearly 2,000 migrant labourers in and around Mavoor crammed up in the quarters which were vacant after the shutdown of Grasim factory. Panchayat president C. Muneerath said an all-party meeting had decided to act against the illegally staying migrant labourers. “There are a lot of such workers staying here sans any records. They are put up in a minimum space without necessary facilities such as water and toilet which trigger cholera like diseases,” she told DC.
Thengilakaddavu - Mananthalakadavu road and Mavoor-REC road are their major pockets. The health department alerted the panchayat over the danger posed by the unhygienic situation caused by such large number of people, but no action has been taken. “As many as 50 wells in the area pose the threat of waterborne diseases. This report was given to the panchayat in 2013 and 2014. But the panchayat sat idle,” said a source in the health office.
Agents make quick bucks out of the migrant labourers as they put five to ten persons in a single room on rent. “The agents also arrange jobs for them. Rs 350/400 will be given to them, and Rs 100 is the agent’s commission per head daily,” said a resident. The profit mongering agents never mind of the hygiene and the need to collect their address proof. They enjoy the support of panchayat officials. Meanwhile, the cholera breakout has triggered panic among the residents, and 30 of such labourers were evicted from quarters in Pantheerankavu on Saturday.
