KOCHI: Director General of Police (DGP) Loknath Behra, accompanied by Ernakulam District Collector Muhammed Y Safirulla, visited a gathering of 2,000 migrant labourers at Perumbavoor on Sunday to instill a sense of confidence among them amid rumours in social media about their security. Addressing them in the national language, the DGP assured them of the total support of the state and told them that they could approach the police and the district administration for grievance redressal any time and could escalate any complaint to him which was not settled at the lower level. He told them that his and the District Collector’s presence on a Sunday was proof of their wholehearted support to the migrant community. The migrant labourers heard him amid thunderous applause.
The DGP also inaugurated ‘Pariharam-2017’, the grievance redressal among migrant labourers organised by the District Collector. He also told them that Kerala was a highly literate state and there was no bar in eating the food of one’s choice or speak the language of choice. “You need not worry about the canards spreading in social media on attacks against migrant labourers. Don’t believe them. You should also complain if you face exploitation from those who give you the job. If you face any ill-treatment from the police, you can complain to higher-ups,” Mr Behra said.
The DGP asked the DySP present to probe and immediately take action on a complaint from a migrant labourer that 70 others were cheated by two Keralites after collecting '2000 each to form a trade union. Mr Safirulla said that Kerala was a state which welcomed migrant labourers. “Several projects to provide free medical relief and insurance are being devised by the administration and Roshni is the project to give education to migrant kids,” Mr Safirulla said. This is the second adalat for migrant labourers organised by the Collector. He said that special coaching would be given to migrant students who were preparing for engineering and medical entrances.
A total of 32 counters were set up as part of the adalat which accepted complaints on labour and had facilities for taking Aadhaar, PAN and bank accounts and also counters to give medical relief. Different department heads were available at the counters. Volunteers who know the language of migrant labourers who hail from Rajagiri and Bharath Matha Colleges and NGOs were available to assist the labourers.
