Shadow Correspondent
KATHUA, JUNE 15:
To help them to overcome financial hardships during Covid-19 pandemic, the Labour department has disbursed Rs 1,00,52,000( Rs one Crore fifty two thousand) among the district Kathua workers registered with the Jammu & Kashmir Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (JKBOCWWB).
As per the Department, the amount was paid to the workers in three installments @Rs 1000/- each in the month of March, April and May-2020. The relief was transferred to the account of workers through DBT mode, to help them survive the financial hardships in absence of work due to Covid -19 Lockdown. The department also reached out to Inter State Migrant Labourers stuck up in the district due to the lockdown. The Labour Department Kathua took immediate measures to mitigate the suffering of these migrant workers, which were present in the district in large numbers to meet the labour needs of industrial units as well as other skilled trades. Initiatives such as providing food and shelter to the stranded migrant labourers, establishing of Helpline Numbers to receive their calls were taken so that their grievances are redressed on time. Labourers approached the department seeking ration and with the desire to return to their hometown. Accordingly the grievances regarding ration were redressed by providing them food grain in coordination with the District Administration. A detailed survey was conducted by the Labour Department to enumerate the Inter State Migrant Labourers stranded in various parts of the district.
In the process, 12051 inter-state migrant workers (including brick kiln and industrial workers) were registered. Their consent was obtained about whether they wish to stay here or want to return to their native places. The Labour Department also distributed 5000 Masks among the migrant workers in District Kathua.
On the directions of Supreme court, District Employment and Counseling Centre, Kathua counseled 1250 interstate migrant labourers/workers in district Kathua about the preventive measures and SOPs for protection against the Covid infection. The department also counseled the labours which have come from other districts like Jammu and Samba on foot to go to their home state and stuck at Lakhanpur. Facilitating the migrant workers willing to go back to their home states, a helpdesk was established in the district office of Labour Department, to carry out their registrations. The data collected was digitized in the prescribed format and area wise list of the workers was also compiled. After receiving directions from the Labour Commissioner’s office for movement of interstate migrant workers from district Kathua to railway station Katra as per the train schedule, the interstate migrant workers were screened by the medical team before their departure to railway station Katra. On the day of departure, boarding points were selected as per the convenience of the interstate migrant workers/labourers. Refreshment and water was also provided to them before departure. Buses were deployed by JKSRTC. Thereafter, the inter-state migrant labourers were dispatched from their respective boarding points to railway station Katra. During the whole process, norms of social distancing were strictly followed and no fare was charged from any inter-state migrant labourer.
As per latest data received from Labour Department Kathua, a total of 2889 migrant workers, including 2188 hailing from Chhatisgarh, 341 from Bihar, 249 from Madhya Pardesh, 86 from Uttar Pardesh, 05 from Orrisa, 17 from Jharkhand, 01 from Uttrakhand and 12 from Rajasthan were ferried to Katra Railway Station for onward journey to their native states through trains.
