Hindutva activists held for causing damages to mosque, shops in Natekal

Mangaluru, May 11: Hundreds of migrant labourers today gathered at a service bus stand in Mangaluru to return to Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.

They were working in different parts of Dakshina Kannada and remained stranded without a job after the announcement of lockdown.

Labourers said that they have not registered with Seva Sindhu portal to avail pass for travelling outside the state.

Though all the people who gathered wore a mask, the physical distancing norm was not followed.

Already three Shramik trains from Mangaluru had left for Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar with nearly 3,500 stranded labourers in the last two days.

The gathered labourers are anticipating that they would be allowed to travel to their destinations in the Shramik trains that will leave in the evening from Mangaluru.

The doctors and paramedical staff who have arrived the spot are checking the health of the labourers before allowing them to travel to the railway station.

The cost of a ticket to Uttar Pradesh is Rs 1,040 per person (which includes bus fare from service bus stand to railway station, food and water bottle).

Bengaluru, Jan 30: There are around 3 lakh Bangladeshis across Karnataka and around 3,000 of them left Bengaluru following the recent crackdown, according to Bhaskar Rao, Bengaluru city police commissioner.

It's the first time a high-ranking official has put a number to Bangladeshis in Karnataka following the debate over the new citizenship law.

At a conclave on 'Construction Workers Safety, Health and Welfare' organised by the labour department and IIMB here, he said the estimate was arrived at based on information sourced from Bangladeshis deported recently.

There's been no study to ascertain the Bangladeshi population in the state, Rao said, adding that most illegal Bangladeshis in Bengaluru are victims of human trafficking.

"They come to Bengaluru for employment. Unlike other cities, Bengaluru has a lot of job potential and pays good salaries too. There are a lot of Bangladeshis working in the construction industry," Rao said.

Workers from Bangladesh demand lower wages. While other labourers demand around Rs 500 to Rs 600 per day, Bangladeshi workers don’t complain about being paid around Rs 100-150,” Rao said, adding that this has encouraged human traffickers to increasingly bring in Bangladeshis.

Suresh Hari, chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, however, said they’re not aware of the nationality of their workers as contractors bring workers registered for tasks. “It’s difficult to say where they are from as there’s also construction work outside Credai’s purview,” Hari said.