Surat, Gujarat: The shops were closed and the streets empty, but there was a palpable tension at Mora village in Surat’s industrial belt of Hazira. The area was cordoned off by a heavy police presence.
Thousands of migrant workers, who worked in the industrial units of Hazira and lived in rented accommodations at Mora, had clashed with the police Saturday demanding a return passage to their home states — they wanted tickets for Shramik Special trains.
While many of the migrants ThePrint spoke to said they failed to receive confirmed tickets despite paying for them and submitting necessary documents, district authorities said letting 6-7 lakh workers travel at one go was not possible.
Saturday’s clash had ensued when some workers pelted stones at the police, who in turn lathicharged and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“We have arrested 15 people and detained 108 who are now on bail,” said A.K. Varma, ACP, Ichhapur. He also said the police are looking at some videos and trying to identify more workers.
This was the second such incident in a week and the sixth since the imposition of a nationwide lockdown in March.
On Thursday, thousands of workers had protested when three trains to Odisha were cancelled because the Gujarat government was unable to test all labourers for Covid-19. An Orissa High Court order the same day had stated that all migrants should test negative before boarding the trains back home. This order was, however, stayed by the Supreme Court Friday and a train had left for Odisha Saturday morning.
Sanjay Ezhawa, a Surat-based social activist working on labour issues, said public outpouring of anger on the streets was hardly surprising. “These workers have no money, no way to feed themselves, they just want to go home and there are not enough trains,” he told ThePrint.
“Many of these workers have already paid for the tickets, how long are they going to wait? Protests like these were not violent before, but now neither the workers are understanding the issue nor is the administration able to pacify them.”
Hazira has around 30,000 workers living in the area, many of them from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha. They work as contractual workers in the belt that includes corporate houses like the Reliance, Essar, L&T and Adani Port. Around 3 lakh from Odisha alone work in the textile and diamond units of Surat.
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Demand and supply
Surat sees the highest influx of migrants from various parts of the country as well as parts of Gujarat due to its successful textile and diamond industry. According to a 2013 UNESCO report, 58 per cent of Surat’s population consisted of internal migrants — people who have come here from other parts of the country.
There are about 10-12 lakh labourers from Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan, said Dhaval Patel, Surat District Collector.
Patel said the clashes were a result of the migrants getting impatient to return home, as they have been hapless without work.
Of the estimated 12 lakh migrants in Surat, around 6-7 lakh want to go home on a priority basis which is not possible, he added.
Patel said 60 trains have already left Surat so far, carrying 72,000 workers to their native places. “It is a demand and a supply issue. We are trying to increase the number of trains to 16 every day, but cannot still cater to all the labourers at one go,” he added.
What happened in Mora village
For the migrants of Mora, staying in Surat has become both non-viable and difficult. Many of them told ThePrint that they have only been paid for 20 days of March. They had to spend their last bit of savings on food as the Gujarat government’s free dry ration is only meant for locals, not migrants.
The local gram panchayat of Mora had earlier asked workers to make a list of 54 people, nominating one as leader, and pay Rs 710 for each ticket. This list would go to the local police station, which will then notify when the tickets are booked.
Many of the workers said they had paid for the tickets and submitted the forms about five days ago but haven’t heard from the government since. On Saturday, some of them went to the local police station to enquire. This soon led to a chaos when some of the workers began pelting stones at the officers.
ACP Varma said 6,000 names were sent to them but they were yet to get the green signal from the states the migrants were headed for.
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‘Can’t wait to go home’
Being contractual labourers, many of the migrants said they get no benefits or security cover from their employers.
“I have no money in my pockets to eat or spend. I called home and told them to send me Rs 2,000, out of which I would need Rs 1,000 to go home,” said 19-year-old Ranjeet Kumar from Bihar.
Kumar worked as a welder at a local factory and earned about Rs 12,000 per month. The company, he said, deducts Rs 2,000 for provident fund which he doesn’t know how to withdraw. He has to pay a rent of Rs 1,000 every month, Rs 200 for “Gujarat tax” and spends Rs 2,500 as his living expenses. “I may come back to Surat but will not work for this company again,” he said.
Sixty-year-old Nandkumar Yadav said he had bought train tickets to go back home in Allahabad, but couldn’t due to the lockdown. On Saturday, he had ventured to get a refund for his ticket when the police lathicharged him.
Yadav fell to the ground, injuring his legs and hand. He was afraid the police would hurt him and sought shelter at a place, where ThePrint found him.
Imagine having to stay inside your one room house, under a hot asbestos ceiling, and having nothing to do, said 30-year-old Mansukh Kumar Verma, from Balia in Uttar Pradesh. Verma shares his room with three others.
He had come to Surat seven years ago and earned Rs 15,000 a month by working as a fitter at an L&T unit. He said he had paid for train tickets but failed to hear from the authorities.
“We had hoped that things would get better, but the cases are only increasing. I can’t wait to go home, I don’t know what I will do, but I know we can survive there,” said Verma.
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