The turnout of migrant workers at Payippad in Kottayam on Sunday is unlikely to be the consequence of a conspiracy by any political parties or religious groups, according to State police officers. A preliminary investigation suggests that some labour contractors might have orchestrated the mischief.
“The workforce managers appeared to have surmised that it could be a losing proposition to afford the wages, stay and food of the labourers during the entire period of the shutdown,” a senior police officer told The Hindu. They could have tried to shrug off their accountability by instigating them to go back home.
Contractors’ role
It is also possible that the contractors had motivated the gullible among the labourers to gather in public to pressurise the district administration into accommodating their demand to go home.
The police investigation is still at a nascent stage. There could be arrests and registration of cases.
However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said "one or more devious forces" had conspired to instigate migrant labourers to gather publicly. Their motive was to besmirch the State's record of ensuring the welfare of migrants and combating the COVID-19 epidemic.
The curfew violation occurred during a crucial period of the State’s stringent pandemic control exercise and it had caught the government by surprise and set alarm bells ringing in the public health establishment. The police say the seemingly impromptu gathering occurred a few days after the taluk authorities summoned the contractors and advised them to ensure the welfare of migrant workers employed by them.
The police say at least eight of the middlemen are under their scanner. Investigators say the mass movement of migrant workers out of New Delhi and the report that the government there had arranged buses for them to travel home had galvanised the workers in Payippad for mass action.
The workers were also upset about the diet served by local authorities as it did not suit their palate.
The district administration in Kottayam has redeemed the grievance by supplying the labourers provisions and fuel to cook food.
The incident at Payippad prompted the police and revenue officials to inspect labour camps across Kerala on Monday. They found many living in crowded shelters with minimal toilet facility.
The police also came across instances of landlords rationing power and water in houses rented by migrant workers. In some areas, local traders and moneylenders have prevented the workers from moving to camps because they fear they would not get back their debts.
Malappuram incident
In Malappuram, two residents used social media to spread alarmist messages among the migrant worker community to make them flee the State. The police have arrested both of them.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran told reporters here that many labourers were unwilling to move out of their rented premises to government camps out of the fear that their landlords would not allow them back.
