Team Herald
PONDA: Irked over the gathering of migrant labourers by the roadside at Ponda KTC bus stand, below flyover near Maruti Temple and Savitri Hall Road, Bandora Panchayat Sarpanch Rajesh Naik urged the Ponda Police to deployed a policeman to control the workers’ gathering to maintain discipline and free flow of traffic.
With the relaxation of lockdown guidelines, the migrant labourers are back in the State and now once again the Ponda labour market near KTC bus stand is crowded like before. The labour market or the place where the workers used to gather and wait early morning near KTC bus stand road for the locals or contractors to engage them for jobs wore a deserted look for the past few months after lockdown due to exodus of the migrant workers to their native places. But now after lockdown relaxation, the migrant workers have returned to the State. Most of the migrant workers doing manual works are staying in Ponda and nearby areas to earn a livelihood as Goans are shying away from manual or hard work.
Early in the morning, they gather at KTC bus stand road and wait for the contractors or the locals to pick them up and hire them for work. After agreeing to the daily wage rates, the workers are hired by the contractors or locals. They are badly needed for the locals to carry out various works. However, their gathering on the roads is creating an obstruction to traffic, inviting accidents and also poses risk to their lives.
“In order the contractors notice and hire them first, they often rush on the roads and so there is need for discipline to prevent accidents and the risk to their lives,” said Bandora Sarpanch Naik.
Naik said, “Earlier the workers used to wait on the highway but later were shifted to the KTC bus stand. There is vacant space but they often gather on the roads so that they are noticed and hired for jobs by the locals or contractors.”
“Workers waiting for the contractors or needy locals to pick them up often come on the main road obstructing traffic and also pose risk to their own life,” he added.
He said that considering the need of labour force, the government should either depute a policeman to control the crowd coming and standing on the road or provide them a separate place where they can gather and the contractors or the needy locals pick them up for jobs.
There was shortage of labourers such as masons, carpenters, laterite stone dresser and helpers especially in the construction industry including male and females which have left Ponda Taluka due to job loss at the commencement of lockdown.
They are back in their labour market especially at KTC bus stand road, near Savitri Hall and near Maruti Temple road.
After lockdown in March, the migrant workers had left Goa as they were unable to bear the cost of living and even to pay the rent of their room they were staying.
The locals, including the contractors who were facing hardships due to shortage of labour after their exodus since past few months, now have heaved a sigh of relief as the labour force from Karnataka, Maharashtra and other neighbouring States are back in Ponda.
