Tag: surat migrant workers lockdown

Surat: As Workers Raise Pitch for Train, BJP Member Dupes Hundreds With Ticket Promise

Videos have emerged showing a protesting man being beaten up when he had gone to complain about being cheated. The BJP denies any connection to the incident but a party note has surfaced which suggests otherwise.

Surat: Migrant workers’ struggle to return home took a violent turn on Saturday as hundreds clashed with police at Mora village in Gujarat’s Surat district.

Amidst the escalating protests, The Quint has reported that a local man, Rajesh Varma, described by the portal as a BJP worker, has duped 100 labourers by charging them thrice the actual ticket price for passage to their home state of Jharkhand. However, no train was supposed to leave for Jharkhand after Monday and eventually the labourers discovered that they had been cheated.

“On Friday, 8 May, a video surfaced where a man who is seen bleeding from his forehead claimed that Varma had asked each person to pay around Rs 2,000 for a ticket (actually worth at Rs 750) back to Jharkhand. Even amid the lockdown, the workers arranged for the money and together paid around Rs 1.40 lakh to Varma,” the report said.

The BJP denies Varma is with the party, with Surat BJP president Nitin Bhajiawala telling PTI, “Rajesh Verma is not a BJP worker. The party has not asked any of its workers to book tickets. The party has nothing to do with this.”

However, The Quint said a “note with BJP’s letterhead reads that Varma was indeed appointed by the Surat BJP to help the migrant workers from Jharkhand with their tickets and forms.”

The man who was bleeding had allegedly been beaten for protesting at Varma’s house.

In a similar instance, a video watermarked Ahmedabad Mirror shows an alleged BJP councillor’s brother promising train tickets to purported migrant workers.


For Saturday morning’s agitation than 40 workers were detained, PTI said. Several of them pelted stones at police vehicles in Mora village near the industrial town of Hazira, according to an official.

Protesting workers demanded that the district administration arrange for their travel back to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, among others states.

Most of these labourers worked in industrial units at Hazira and lived in Mora village, the official said, adding that the police had cordoned off the area and tightened security there.
Another incident of police-migrants clash when hundreds of migrants in Mora village near Surat’s main industrial zone Hazira gathered demanding that they be allowed to go back immediately. The police had to use tear gas to disperse the mob. @the_hindu. pic.twitter.com/Ib18IB3L63

Migrant workers in Gujarat, especially in the industrial hub of Surat, have been agitating for passage home for nearly a week now. Surat-based powerlooms and textile units employ thousands of people from the eastern state who are now stranded and out of job due to the coronavirus-enforced lockdown.

On Thursday, defying lockdown norms, hundreds of migrant workers from Odisha came out on the roads in Surat city upon learning the Odisha government has revoked permission to three trains which were scheduled to leave on Friday.

In early April too, as many as 80 migrant labourers had been arrested in Surat for defying the COVID-19 lockdown and going on a rampage and setting on fire several vegetable carts.

Also read: After UP, Gujarat Offers 1,200-Day Labour Law Exemptions for New Industrial Investments

Incidentally, Gujarat government on Friday announced key labour law exemptions in the state in an attempt to attract investment after the lockdown.

Except for laws pertaining to the payment of minimum wages, following safety norms and adequate compensation for workers in case of industrial accidents, no other provisions of the labour law would apply to all new companies that wish to operate in the state for at least 1,200 days, and for those that have already been operational for that period, chief minister Vijay Rupani said.

(With PTI inputs)

Surat: Migrant Workers Defy Lockdown, Demand Wages and Return to Home State

As many as 80 migrant labourers were arrested in the textile town for defying the lockdown and going on a rampage, setting on fire several vegetable carts.

New Delhi: As many as 80 migrant labourers have been arrested in Gujarat’s textile town, Surat, on Friday evening for defying the COVID-19 lockdown and going on a rampage and setting on fire several vegetable carts. The workers have been demanding that they be handed over their wages and allowed to return to Odisha, their home state.

This is the second such incident of labourers going on a rampage in Surat since March 30. Over 90 migrants were reportedly arrested on March 30 for defying the lockdown, demanding that they be sent back home. Most of these workers are employees of the power loom textile factories of the town which have been shut due to the nationwide lockdown. Due to the shutdown, the workers are not receiving their daily wages.

Surat hosts the state’s largest population of migrant workers.

Also Read: Five COVID-19 Policy Mistakes India Could Have Done Without

The April 11 incident took place at the town’s Lakshana area. A PTI report, quoting ACP C.K. Patel, said “Hundreds of workers, mostly from Odisha, hit the streets demanding that they should be sent to their native places. They also claimed that the food served to them by an NGO is tasteless and they have to stand in queue to get the meal.”

The police officer said, “Out of anger, they torched some handcarts and tyres in Laskana area. We have detained 80 migrant workers. Heavy police deployment and strict vigil by the administration has brought the situation under control.”

According to a report in The Hindu, “By the time police had arrived (on the spot), more than 1000 people had gathered on the street shouting and complaining about food and salaries.”

Gujarat, as of April 11, has reported 308 positive cases of COVID-19, out of which 19 have lost their lives.