KOZHIKODE: The hotel and restaurant owners in Kozhikode are busy asking their migrant staff to make videos where they speak good about the land, and their working atmosphere for many of their co-workers left after a false propaganda spread that workers from other states are beaten to death in the city hotels here. Owners say such false videos and morphed pictures were spread in massive amount through WhatsApp groups.
A migrant worker from West Bengal in a hotel on the beach side had committed suicide and using his photograph messages were forwarded, stating that the other-state workers were being treated brutally in the city hotels and they should leave for life, said Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association Kozhikode city president Shameer C.
“Once the false news spread, their relatives in West Bengal, Assam and Uttar Pradesh started calling them back in fear. In two days, from one hotel 26 workers left, ten from other, eight and five from others. Two hotels had to be shut for the lack of staff for cleaning and plate washing,” said Mr Shameer. “Now we requested the workers to record their video clips saying that they are safe here. The videos with a length of 25 to 30 seconds are now forwarded to their groups. Some are even using the exodus report in newspapers to publicise the happenings negatively.”
