Bengal migrant workers 'stuck' in TN on roadside without food, shelter: Help sought

By A Representative
A senior West Bengal-based civil rights leader has drawn the attention of the Tamil Nadu government towards 13 “helpless conditions of migrant labourers” stuck in the midst of the current pandemic in far away Tamil Nadu, pointing out, Apurba Biswas (mobile number 8388982951) and 12 others of different bordering villages of North 24 Pargana, West Bengal, who are the sole bread winners of their family and employees of Nahi Construction Private Ltd, are “stuck" in a roadside in Madurai.
Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and national convenor Programme Against Custodial Torture and Impunity (PACTI), in a letter to the principal secretary, home, Tamil Nadu, said, these workers are currently staying put off “34 A Utchaparamedu, Iyyar Bunglow, Madurai-14” on the road, the reason being, the “the contractor fled away and the construction company drove them out.”
“Currently, the conditions they are living in is detrimental to the precautionary guidelines to be maintained in fighting Covid-19 which calls for immediate steps to free these people from such a condition”, Roy said in the letter, pointing out, these workers were first contacted by Mintu Pal, residing at Gobordanga Sarkarpara, North 24 Parganas (Mobile No 8967996998) in January to work in the Tamil Nadu constructing company, and in February they joined and started working.
Roy complained, the construction company and the contractor never paid them for their work. Only every Saturday the contractor would pay them for their meals and other expenses, and from the last week the contractor, without giving them a single penny, “ran away after taking whole amount of money from the construction company.”
“The people of the construction company have evicted them from the place where they used to live. They have been starving for the last four or five days and have been lying on the side of the road. Now they are staying on the roadside of 34 A, Utchaparamedu, Iyyar Bunglow, Madurai-14, Tamil Nadu without getting any basic needs and singe amount of money”, the letter informed the official.
Giving the names of 13 persons who are stuck in Tamil Nadu, Roy said, “The Central and State governments have been trying hard to collaboratively fight this pandemic from the last year and have issued guidelines to take strict precautionary measure in order to completely eradicate Covid-19 pandemic”, regretting, despite this, these migrant labourers “are still struggling for food and shelter in an unknown State where they were cheated by the contractor and construction company.”
Asking the Tamil Nadu government to take to take “appropriate action to help the victims to avail the train and return back home safely”, the letter said, they should be “immediately provide them proper food and drinking water as they have been completely starving for few days.” It added, “As the families are solely dependent on the victims, the liability lies on the government to provide economic aid to the family during this period.”
The letter demanded stern action should be taken against the Nahi Construction Company, which allegedly “did not show any human attitude towards these migrant labourers”, insisting, ,Mintu Pal, contractor, should be immediately booked and prosecuted “under proper penal provisions and directed to pay them for working in the construction company for last four months.”

Comments

India's chemical industry: The missing piece of Atmanirbhar Bharat

By N.S. Venkataraman* Rarely a day passes without the Prime Minister or a cabinet minister speaking about the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat . The Start-up India scheme is a pillar in promoting this vision, and considerable enthusiasm has been reported in promoting start-up projects across the country. While these developments are positive, Atmanirbhar Bharat does not seem to have made significant progress within the Indian chemical industry . This is a matter of high concern that needs urgent and dispassionate analysis.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

Remembering a remarkable rebel: Personal recollections of Comrade Himmat Shah

By Rajiv Shah I first came in contact with Himmat Shah in the second half of the 1970s during one of my routine visits to Ahmedabad , my maternal hometown. I do not recall the exact year, but at that time I was working in Delhi with the CPI -owned People’s Publishing House (PPH) as its assistant editor, editing books and writing occasional articles for small periodicals. Himmatbhai — as I would call him — worked at the People’s Book House (PBH), the CPI’s bookshop on Relief Road in Ahmedabad.

Minority rights group writes to Gujarat CEO, flags serious issues in SIR process

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has submitted a formal representation to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat, Harit Shukla (IAS), highlighting serious irregularities and difficulties faced by voters in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral roll. The organisation warned that if corrective measures are not taken urgently, a large number of eligible citizens may be deprived of their voting rights.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog