Covid: 1.5 yrs after 1st lockdown, workers from north India return to Mysuru

MYSURU: Nearly a year-and-a-half after they took the road leading back home, labourers from North India are returning to Mysuru to resume their jobs. Migrants from North India constitute a bulk of the workforce in the informal sector in the city: From working as mechanics at garages to running food carts offering a wide range of snacks and chaats, workers from North India play a key role in driving the engine of the local economy.More importantly, they help bridge the huge gap in the demand for labour given locals’ reluctance to work in the informal sector.
Babu Prasad, a 20-year-old from Bihar, is working at a fuel station on JLB Road. Since this is the first time he is in Karnataka, Prasad is not familiar with Kannada. “I came to Mysuru with my friends looking for a job last month. Since I could not find a job in any of the factories, I am working at the station for the time being,” said Prasad, who pursued a certificate course in automobile technology.
Residents pointed out that, with Covid-19 cases on the decline, more food carts are mushrooming along the sides of the city’s thoroughfares. North Indian youngsters running these carts are leaving the food lovers of the city spoilt for choice.
Heera Ram, who runs a food cart near the city bus stand, arrived in the Heritage City a fortnight ago. “I earn from up to Rs 700 to Rs 900 per day. I open my shop around 12.30pm, and close around 9pm. I rented the cart from a local vendor. I came to Mysuru after many of my friends told me it was better compared to Bengaluru,” Ram added.
Mysuru District Hotel Owners’ Association president C Narayana Gowda pointed out that most workers at the city’s restaurants were from North India, most of whom had now returned to resume their job. “We have employees from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, all of whom have returned. We are paying them what we used to prior to the outbreak of Covid,” Gowda added.
President of the National Real Estate Development Council’s Karnataka chapter M Satish Kumar said that workers in the construction industry were yet to return to Mysuru. “Local labourers demand more wages knowing that the sector is faced with a problem,” he rued.