Welfare projects lagging behind

KOCHI: The projects undertaken by the Kochi Corporation for the betterment of living conditions of migrant labourers in the district, have almost come to a standstill. The action was proposed following reports of exploitation of migrant labourers from the north and north-eastern parts of the country, by employers in Ernakulam district.Although the Corporation had planned to create a monitoring cell to conduct surprise raids at construction sites and other establishments to inspect the basic facilities available for migrant labourers, nothing has materialised. The plan that was to be executed in early June was postponed to July-end, but is yet to be implemented.While unofficial statistics reveal that the city is home to a minimum of 1 lakh migrant labourers at any given time, officials concerned say that there are only 2,897 migrant labourers in the city according to available statistics. The alarming disparity in the statistics has been attributed to the pending survey in Kothamangalam, Fort Kochi and Perumbavoor, areas where migrant labourers are employed on a large scale.The project also involves the participation  of Rajagiri Outreach in conducting HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns for migrant workers. According to Rajagiri Outreach officials, the health project has been able to make some progress. “Since the major employers of migrant labourers in Perumbavoor differ from those in Ernakulam, two teams have been formed to deal with each area. In Perumbavoor, plywood factories and saw mills are the employment hubs, while in Ernakulam, they are mainly employed in construction sites,” said Princy Jacob, senior project officer with Rajagiri Outreach.“The major task of the health project is to create awareness on HIV/AIDS among the workers and to spot the high-risk individuals among them. We also conduct medical camps for migrant labourers to spot HIV positive patients and link them to support groups,” said Joly Thomas, Ernakulam area project coordinator. Shijo P P, project coordinator for Perumbavoor, stated that the lack of proper statistics on the government’s side and the frequent movement of these labourers within the district was affecting the feedback for the project.