Express News Service
KOCHI: Industries in Kerala have began going through manpower scarcity owing to approaching meeting elections as a lot of the employees are returning to their house states to forged votes. As the state closely depends on migrant employees, elections in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu will make the state of affairs worse within the coming days.Sixty per cent of migrant labourers are from West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu. In districts like Ernakulam, the migrant workforce from these states is as excessive as 90 per cent. There are employees from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh in Kerala. But their quantity is relatively restricted.
According to Binoy Peter, an skilled on inner migration with the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development, not like in earlier elections in Assam, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is an important issue behind mass motion of labourers to their native locations to forged votes this time. Similarly, in West Bengal, the present election is taken into account essential. “Workers have started returning to native places. The impact of this movement is visible in several sectors. The arrival of workers from Assam and West Bengal is almost nil now. There will be a labour shortage across Kerala, especially in Ernakulam. The major sectors to face crisis will be plywood, construction and hospitality,” he stated.
Perumbavoor and Kothamangalam, the hub of timber industries in state, have 90 per cent of employees from West Bengal and Assam. “The employees from Assam have already returned to their native locations for the election. West Bengal natives have began shifting.
The manufacturing of plywood will come down within the coming days. It is tough to switch such a lot of employees. Plywood trade shall be hit until these employees return after the elections,” M M Mujeeb Rahman, president of Sawmill Owners and Plywood Manufacturers Association (SOPMA), stated.
Usually, employees from Tamil Nadu used to return to their native place only some days earlier than the polling date. But this time they’re shifting weeks forward because of Covid-19 journey restrictions. “If Covid cases increase, we may not be able to cast our votes. So we are planning to go home by next week,” stated Murugan, who runs a tea stall in Kochi. With restricted inter-state trains obtainable, migrant employees are hiring buses to journey to native locations in West Bengal and Assam. “Several tourist buses in Kerala have started trips to Assam and West Bengal,” Binoy stated.
