Contractors fly the coop without paying, labourers plead with Karnataka’s call centre

BENGALURU: The control room of the State Emergency Operation Centre, located in MS building, has been getting dozens of calls a day in the past week from various strata of people seeking help to buy food or access it.

Saturday was no different. The centre operated by the Karnataka State Disaster Monitoring Authority received over 100 calls, including from working class people stuck in Varthur, Whitefield, Koramangala, Hebbagodi and other areas of the city. Many are construction workers who say contractors have disappeared without settling wages due to them for several months.

“When we tried to contact the contractors and building owners, we found their phones were switched off. We have informed the local police and asked them to trace the contractors,” the staff told TNIE.

Although the state government has announced that it will release Rs 1,000 per labourer for 21 lakh people registered as construction workers in the state, many appear to have fallen through the gaps in the delivery of financial aid. The state and central governments have announced other welfare measures as well, such as serving free meals at Indira Canteens.

Many labourers from West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and other states are leaving the city, but many more are stranded since there is no transport for them to reach their home towns.

“Most of those who called had not had food since Saturday. We informed BBMP officials who arranged food packets for them. A pregnant woman was also stuck in the city, and officials arranged an ambulance to take her to her native village,” a staff member said.

The call centre also received calls from relatives and family members of patients admitted to private hospitals in Whitefield. Many of them stay as paying guests around the hospitals and have had no access to food since the lockdown began.

“Panicky people have been contacting us from across state and we are passing on the problems to the officers and departments concerned,” G Somashekar, assistant statistical officer in charge of the centre said.