Numerous claims regarding incidents of violence against migrants in Tamil Nadu have been going around social media in the past few days. Alt News fack-checked five such news pieces and found them to be false.

The viral videos circulated online were not found to be related to any incident of violence in Tamil Nadu. One such piece of fake news was attributed to the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran. As per the paper clip, on March 2, the newspaper, in its Lucknow edition, reported that “Hindi-speaking labourers were being killed in Tamil Nadu.”

The report added that migrant workers from North Indian states were asked to vacate the state by the natives before March 2020. Moreover, the newspaper wrongly claimed that Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin asked “Hindi-speaking migrant workers to leave and that the Tamil Nadu government won’t be responsible for whatever happens to them if they don’t.”

The viral paper clip. Source: Alt News 

The report also included a statement by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

“Every Hindi-speaking migrant worker is requested to return home. You will get employment in Uttar Pradesh…,” Adityanath said, as per the report.

The fact-check by Alt News found that the viral clipping is not genuine as the report “is not only incomplete but is also poorly written using Google Input Tools.” It included Hindi errors, poor formatting, and repetitive usage of English words in a Hindi copy. Further investigation by Alt News revealed that the clipping was made using an Android application called “News Banner Maker,” which “allows users to make such newspaper cutting.”

The clipping was shared to create the impression that migrant workers are not safe in Tamil Nadu and have been asked to leave the state.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Fake News Regarding Situation of Migrant Workers in Tamil Nadu Being Made Viral appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Within a month of their seeking livelihood opportunities in the southern state of Karnataka, they were wrongfully detained by the Karnataka, wrongly dubbed as ‘Bangladeshi.’

In June 2022, the Adhikary couple left home, went to Karnataka for work, lived for a few weeks in a rental house in Bengaluru. Earning a daily wage of Rs 300-400 a day, collecting waste plastics lying in public places (hotels, restaurants, cinema halls etc and then depositing them in one place, their meagre subsistence level existence was rudely disrupted on July 27, 2022. 

Suddenly, randomly, out of the blue, the Bengaluru police arrested, reportedly in the case no Varthur PS /Case no-165/2022 along with some others from the same area on being suspected Bangladeshis. Until today they remain detained. 

Following Anandbazar patrika’s reportage of the plight of the migrant labour couple, there has been a furore in West Bengal and outrage. 

Meanwhile the SabrangIndia team contacted the Adhikary family to get further details. Large sections of the persons from the Tele village of Jourgram panchayat under Jamalpur Police station in East Burdwan earn their livelihood by working as labourers. As an extension of the same pattern, Palash and others too, went to Bengaluru’ Palash with his wife and son in the hope of additional income. Palash lived with his family and neighbour Sunil Adhikari in a house in Sulibela area of Vathur police station in Marathalla subdivision of Bangalore. That is where they started work on the issue of re-cycling of waste. That was till they were arbitrarily detained on July 27. Tragically, along with the Adhikary couple, their their little baby boy namely Adi Adhikary, who just is just 1 year and 6 months old is also detained! 

Palash’s father Pankaj Adhikary and mother, Sabita Adhikary, speaking to SabrangIndia said that the only reason that Palash and his wife and their child are detained is because they speak the Bengali language. While the others who had been detained were released after they showed their Aadhaar card, PAN card and voter cards, but Palash and his family were still detained by the police.

Palashs’s parents have publicly appealed to Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of Bengal to immediately assist and ensure their release. Sujan Haldar, relatives (brother in law) of Palash told Sabrangindia, “After learning about this incident I went to Karnataka but could not do anything.” He added, “Communicating with lawyers is also difficult due to language problems”. The application for bail has been filed, the first hearing was on October 25 and now the matter will be heard on October 31. 

Meanwhile, the All India Trinomul Congress (TMC) MLA, Alok Kumar Majhi of Jamalpur Assembly Constituency  told SabrangIndia “Palash and his family are permanent residents and voters of Tele village in my assembly constituency. They also have all the proof of Indian citizenship. Despite this, it is surprising that the Bengaluru police detained them. “ 

He added, “Now presently we have the vaction around Kali Puja and his family informed  me of this tragedy during this period. As soon as the holidays end, we will take necessary action and do what we can to get them released. “ 

Meanwhile, on October 25, a  bail application has been filed before the sessions court in Bengaluru Rural (Registration no 1973/2022); the first hearing was on October25 and the  next will be on October 31, 2022. 

Related:

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Bengali speaking workers face likely ban in Bengaluru apartments, what’s next?

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A joint memorandum of organizations comprising of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Rajasthan, Centre for Equity Studies, Rajasthan, Nirman and General Mazdoor Union, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan Asangatith Mazdoor Union, Suchna ka Adhikar Manch, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Helping Hands, Jamiat Islami Hindi, Rajasthan, Pink City Haj and Education Welfare Society and National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), Rajasthan have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal to ensure that migrants and other stranded people are taken to their homes safely and without any charges levied on them by the Indian Railways.

While the Central government rescued at least a 1,000 stranded Indians from coronavirus-hit countries and got them back to India in special flights without charging them a single penny, it was reported by The New Indian Express that migrant workers from Ernakulam district of Kerala alone spent Rs. 32 lakh for their journey back home to Odisha and Bihar, after spending an average of Rs. 530 per ticket.

In this regards, the joint memorandum of organizations wrote, “To extract fares and that too more than the usual rates is absolutely unfair to the troubled people. Through the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs, dated May 1 2020, order number 40-3/2020-DM-1 (A) and Ministry of Railways order no TC-II/2020/Spl Trains-Covid-19, we came to know that special trains are being run to help the migrants and stranded persons reach back home. The railways was charging full sleeper fare for these tickets, an additional sum of Rs. 30 for superfast charges and 20Rs for additional charges.”

Explaining the plight of the migrants the organizations said that the government knew how the migrants had been stuck without work, food and shelter and had spent the last of their money to sustain themselves during the pandemic. It was also brought to the Centre’s notice that some of the migrants who were in dire straits, had started walking back home. “These workers were shunted from one corner to another. The landlords denied them residence, they began walking towards home, and suffered even worse outcomes. They are neither the beneficiaries of National Food Security Act nor did the industry owners provide them wages under the MHA order dates 29th March and to top it some of the landlords extracted rent for this duration from them. Only the hope to reach home, kept them going through the lockdown,” they said in the statement.

In light of the ongoing crisis, they have put forth a proposal consisting of the following points for consideration.

1. To travel inter-state, please provide trains as per the demand of the state

2. Run buses to the point of departure and front the point of arrival to villages

3. Please waive off the ticket charges of travel for all travellers.

4. All migrants should be registered and hubs should be demarcated so that no unnecessary expenses or delays are caused.

5. Inter-state migrants should be provided Rs 3000 as an ex gratia to support their families.

The life of migrants became incredibly hard as the lockdown was announced. After lots of pressure from the Opposition, states and civil society, the arrangements for the return of migrants to their native villages, but even that is fraught with inefficiency and apathy.

However, it has now been reported that the Centre will bear 85 percent of the fares of the travel of migrant workers, while the states will have to pay the remaining 15 percent. Whether or not this will be implemented will soon come into the picture.

The entire letter by the joint memorandum of organizations may be read below.

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Lockdown through the gender lens
Why should India’s migrant labour pay for their return home

The post Joint memorandum of organizations pens letter to PM Modi and Railway Minister appeared first on SabrangIndia.

May 4 2020, will be marked as an landmark date in Indian Politics, for it has brought forth a leadership lesson, from an unexpected quarter, It took one empathetic decision from Opposition leader,  Congress president Sonia Gandhi, to send the Union government into firefighting mode. Gandhi, who has never held a cabinet post, or ministership offered to pay rail fare for migrant labourers, desperate to get home to their villages. Already hit by joblessness, and facing impending starvation in the cities they work in, thousands of labourers had hoped to get home safely in the special trains run by the Railway ministry for the purpose. To their shock they were expected to pay the full fare.

So bizzare was the move that even Subramaniam Swamy, senior lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member had commented: “How moronic of the Government of India to charge steep rail fares from the half starved migrant labourers! Indians stranded abroad were brought back free by Air India. If Railways refuse to budge then why not make PM CARES pay instead?” It is well known that Swamy is one of the most vocal critics of Sonia Gandhi, her family, and party. He then went on to add that he had spoken to the concerned ministry, who in turn said they will now pay 85% of the fare for each ticket.

How moronic of the Government of India to charge steep rail fares from the half starved migrant labourers! Indians stranded abroad were brought back free by Air India. If Railways refuse to budge then why not make PM CARES pay instead?

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) May 4, 2020

The fact that it took one statement from Sonia Gandhi to rattle the Railways Ministry and the union government has exposed the manner in which such a crisis is first created, and how it harms the most marginalised sections. It is unlikely that the Rail Minister, Piyush Goel, had not known the situation before Sonia Gandhi’s orders alerted the system. 

“What is the responsibility of our Govt? Even today lakhs of workers & migrant labourers are languishing in different parts of the country. What is disturbing is that the Govt is charging them for train tickets in this crisis,” she had asked.

Sonia Gandhi had called the government out for this anti-labourer, anti-poor move,  and said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure “safe” and “free rail travel” for migrant workers who wanted to go back to their  home-towns as they had no options left. 

She questioned the Rail Ministry’s “largesse to donate ₹151cr to PM’s Corona fund,” and asked, “why can’t these essential members of our nation’s fabric be given a fraction of the same courtesy, especially free rail travel?”

Sonia Gandhi, then said her party will pay the rail fares of all the migrants who could not afford to buy their train ticket home. “The Indian National Congress has, therefore, taken a decision that every PradeshCongress Committee shall bear the cost for the rail travel of every needy worker and migrant labourer and shall take necessary steps in this regard,” she said. 

This she said was her party’s “contribution in service of our compatriots and to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with them.” This was an offer for all states, not just the ones governed by the Congress. Her announcement must have sent alarm bells ringing in the Rail Ministry. Though a clarification came from party leader Subramanian Swamy, and not from the Rail Minister, or the Prime Minister’s office.

“Talked Piyush Goel office. Govt will pay 85% and State Govt 15% . Migrant labour will go free. Ministry will clarify with an official statement

Talked Piyush Goel office. Govt will pay 85% and State Govt 15% . Migrant labour will go free. Ministry will clarify with an official statement

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) May 4, 2020

Sonia Gandhi had reacted to the news that migrant labourers, many now jobless, had been forced to pay for their travel  charged migrant labourers who desperately need to get home to their villages. The government, it seems, reacted to Sonia Gandhi. 

It is a matter of record that since the national Covid19 lockdown, now in its third phase, labourers have faced massive job loss, and do not have food and health security at the cities they work in. Thousands have been walking to their villages from across the country. Many have died on the way. It is now being seen as one of the biggest humanitarian crises in India, emerging in the wake of the Covid19 pandemic. 

“Thousands of migrant workers and labourers were forced to walk home… without anything except for the desire to return to their families & loved ones. Their plight breaks our hearts,” said Sonia Gandhi. She called the workers the backbone of India’s economy, and said they have been denied the opportunity to return to their homes as the nation was put in lockdown suddenly. 

“Post the Partition of 1947, this is the first time India witnessed a tragedy with such a massive human cost,” she said and added that it was “particularly disturbing that the Central Government and the Rail Ministry are charging them for train tickets in this hour of crisis.”

She said that the Union Government had  “recognised its responsibility by arranging free air travel for our citi-zens stranded abroad,” and spent “nearly Rs. 100 crores for just one public programme in Gujarat”. 

As expected her statements, and offer to pay, set off a discussion online with BJP supporters in fire fighting mode and Congress spokesperson raising more questions. A case in point was BJP spokesman Sambit Swaraj who answered Rahul Gandhi’s question on railways donation to PM Cares fund with this:

“Rahul Gandhi ji,
I have attached guidelines of MHA which clearly states that “No tickets to be sold at any station” Railways has subsidised 85% & State govt to pay 15%

The State govt can pay for the tickets(Madhya Pradesh’s BJP govt is paying)
Ask Cong state govts to follow suit” 

Rahul Gandhi ji,
I have attached guidelines of MHA which clearly states that “No tickets to be sold at any station”
Railways has subsidised 85% & State govt to pay 15%
The State govt can pay for the tickets(Madhya Pradesh’s BJP govt is paying)
Ask Cong state govts to follow suit https://t.co/Hc9pQzy8kQ pic.twitter.com/2RIAMyQyjs

— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) May 4, 2020

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera put out the original orders which showed that the state governments were to collect fares and issue tickets to the labourers who wanted to travel. “For the record, this is what the government of India had issued. No harm in accepting the mistake and undoing it. We owe it all to our workers.”

For the record, this is what the government of India had issued. No harm in accepting the mistake and undoing it. We owe it all to our workers. #CongressCares #CongressForIndia pic.twitter.com/Td0Sye5GeP

— Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) May 4, 2020

The post Sonia Gandhi’s quiet empathy shuts down Modi regime’s loud theatrics, prompts action appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā

Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves. Be ye a refuge to yourselves. Betake yourselves to no external refuge. 

(The Mahaparinibbana Sutta)

When the migrant workers across India started walking to their homes, they knew that they could trust only in themselves and in no other, certainly not the government. They had been cruelly left in the lurch with a sudden and hasty lockdown which seems not to have taken their case into consideration at all. 

They knew to follow the one advice that could not go wrong, one which did not depend on the whims and fancies of false gods and fake prophets. They had to be lamps unto themselves. 

Every avenue of their sustenance and survival was suddenly taken away from them. The workers knew, deep in their hearts, that their deliverance lay in their own hands – and their feet. So, even though the path ahead was long and difficult, they betook themselves on the road to work out their own salvation and redemption. 

They knew in their heart of hearts that the road to hell was always paved with good intentions. They had been shown one. So, they decided to chart out their own path. In its own grim way, it was like a  Pilgrim’s Progress, from the City of Destruction to, hopefully, the Celestial City. 

They also knew that long ago, a wise man had led his people away from a Plague onwards to the Promised Land, even parting a sea for them. This time around, for their Exodus, they knew they had been abandoned by all so-called Leader of men and women. They knew they had been condemned to wander the desert on their own, without even manna from the heavens. 

But, they had nothing to stay back for. They had nothing to prove, no lamps to light in the homes they were leaving behind. They had already burnt their candles at both ends.

The author is a socially-concerned citizen, based in Delhi. He believes in solidarities with global struggles, such as the working class, indigenous and other marginalized peoples’ struggles around the world.

The post Be a lamp unto yourselves – the advice the migrant workers followed appeared first on SabrangIndia.

They are walking, in ones and twos, following each other with more than adequate distance between them. Carrying only the essentials, perhaps just their clothes, some food, and the last of the money or important papers, maybe even a  doctor’s prescription, that they have managed to fold and fit into a small bag or bundle. The luggage has to be small, and light enough to be carried on their backs or on their heads. 

The young men prefer to carry backpacks they must have saved up to take on  their next trip home, some wear shoes, many others are wearing slippers. The women are carrying sling bags and/ or cloth bundles that they balance on their heads, like they have done with the loads of construction material, or vegetables at their workplaces.

Travelling light is essential for these travelers. They are not on a holiday. They are escaping the city, to save their lives, while they still have the energy to walk. Often categorised as the ‘floating population’ they are skilled migrant  workers, and unskilled labourers, the road ahead for them is the toughest. It doesn’t matter that this stretch is actually the fancy new world class expressway that connects Delhi to Uttar Pradesh, the first stretch of which was inaugurated by Prime minister Narendra Modi on May 27, 2018.

The migrants walking home have come from across the city and were noticed when they reached what will soon be one of the biggest, most modern highways, with 14 lanes, four flyovers, and three underpasses, at its widest stretch on the 96 km long road that will connect Delhi to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh via that marks the two state’s border. On normal days all kinds of vehicular traffic buzzes fast and furious on this road, the cost of which is said to be as much as Rs 10,000 crores.

Today, under the nationwide lockdown, the road looks even wider and barren, as only private, or police vehicles, or ambulances zip by. The desolation of this road has also made visible this procession of never seen before in the city. Scores of men, women, and children have begun walking eastwards on this highway. They are all going back to their villages, because the city they have helped build does not want to feed and shelter them anymore. 

The COVID-19 lockdown has meant the building sites, factories, farms, offices, shops and other places they once worked at  have closed down for now. They are without work, and therefore without their daily wages these workers have no shelter or food. The Union Government has also shut down all public transport, including interstate buses and trains, depriving them of their usual mode of travel, often during a festival or weddings only. 

Forced to flee Delhi, rather than stay here and face starvation they have begun the long march home. This long march is not the beginning of a citizen revolution, it is a shameful symbol of governmental apathy towards the poorest citizens who are the backbone of any metropolis. All of them have come to the city to earn for their survival and that of the families they have left behind back home in the village. They must now return to the families as possible burdens instead of the breadwinners they once were.

Journalists have begun reporting this reverse migration but the authorities are yet to respond with a plan of action. According to a social media post by Telegraph India’s Furquan Ameen, He met many who were now walking back to their  villages in Bareilly, Agra, Aligarh, Badaun, Farrukhabad, Auraiya, Kanpur and many other places across Uttar Pradesh. 

They’ll be walking to their villages in Bareilly, Agra, Aligarh, Badaun, Farrukhabad, Auraiya, Kanpur and many other places #coronavirusindia #21daysLockdown #migrantworkers #wahmodijiwah pic.twitter.com/yJoiMjZHMI

— فرقان أمین | furquan ameen (@furquansid) March 26, 2020

That it is a very long walk home for these citizens,  is something that needs to be repeated ad nauseam till the authorities take notice and step in by providing safe transport to them. Else they will have to cover by foot, hundreds of kilometers into the interiors of various districts in Uttar Pradesh. The journey is even longer and treacherous for those who hail from Bihar and beyond. Of course there are no provisions for shelter, food and water along the way. All roadside eateries have shut down as have kiosks at railway stations and bus shelters which themselves are deserted.

“Could Yogi not have arranged even a bus for us. Is it because we are poor,” a young migrant worker identified as Rajneesh told journalist Barkha Dutt. According to the report, he will have to walk 247  kilometers to reach his home in UP’s Bareilly district.

“Could Yogi not have arranged even a bus for us, Is it because we’re? Poor?”-Rajneesh, is walking 247Km on foot to Bareilly. “Poverty will kill us before the virus”- If we airlift Indians how can we abandon millions of our poor. If states wont, let the Army. My #Mojo report pic.twitter.com/mZhRPO5bQf

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) March 26, 2020

Most of the labourers who do not even have the option, or the energy to walk home have begun collecting night shelters run by the Delhi government. So far thousands have been fed at least one hot meal by the Delhi government and citizen groups who have volunteered help. That the crowds are growing at these shelters is a cause of worry too.

Then there are others who stay in rented accommodation, five to ten in one room sometimes who are running out of food stocks fast, and no longer have wages to buy any more.  It is not known if any of them has been exposed to Coronavirus as they work across the city in various circumstances and spaces. “Test us and then drop us home,” pleaded a worker on journalist Ravish Kumar’s news show on NDTV.

The only other time this highway sees such a march is when pilgrims undertake the Kanwariya yatra, carrying holy water from the Ganga in the hills back to their homes across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar etc. However, during those yatras elaborate arrangements are made by Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi governments, and scores of volunteer groups are also on grounds setting up rest stops which provide food, shelter, and medical assistance every few kilometers. Of course the state authorities and other organisers of those camps have months,  and lots of funds to prepare for the yatra, and this march has only just begun, that too suddenly. 

Surely, the migrant workers, nor walking in the reverse direction,  are still hoping that someone takes notice and steps in soon. After all, the journey is as important as the destination. And this one is a matter of survival.

The same is the situation of workers from Rajasthan who are working in different parts of Gujarat. While the fear of carrying the infection from urban to rural areas remains, migrant labourers feel compelled to leave anyway given their dwindling resources amidst the lockdown. The absence of wages translates into the inability to pay rent or even for food. When one can’t keep a roof over their head or put food on the table, going back home appears to be the only option. They walk at night, because they possibly wouldn’t be able to sustain themselves without food and water if they walk in the day’s scorching heat.

Speaking to the Economic Times, Gujarat Migrant Workers’ Congress President, Ashok Punjabi said that there were 50,000 workers in Ahmedabad alone who left on foot to their hometowns. After walking for many kilometers without food or water, some of them were fortunate enough to be helped by the police and local administration.

Amrit Patel, Bicchiwara Tehsildar told the Indian Express that the administration had arranged three Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation buses and 15 – 20 mini buses and vehicles for around 2,000 stranded people. They were placed in the buses keeping in mind that social distancing was maintained.

In Gujarat’s Mehsana district too, the police provided food packets and water to workers who were moving to Rajasthan. IG, Gandhnagar Range, Mayanksinh Chavda said that the police was also taking action against the factory owners who haven’t done enough to keep the workers there.

#Gujarat Thousands of migrant workers leaving for home on Rajasthan border on foot, hitchhiking. With hotels along highway closed, local police of border districts have come to their rescue with food, water & masks. Police are also arranging vehicles @DeccanHerald pic.twitter.com/oDWUCK78Iv

— satish jha. (@satishjha) March 25, 2020

#CoronavirusLockdown migrant workers from Rajasthan have set on foot on over 100-200km journey to their native from Ahmedabad. Volunteers help them with water and food on NH-8.@timesofindia pic.twitter.com/DKjq4QOaio

— Saeed Khan (@SaeedkhanTOI) March 24, 2020

100 #migrant workers from #Rajasthan are stranded in #Ahmedabad, with no wages/rations. We requested @AmdavadAMC to allow them into #RenBaseras, where they would get food & health checkups. But the workers were refused entry #Covid19 #StandWithInformalWorkers #StandWithMigrants pic.twitter.com/7naa1TwOZC

— Aajeevika Bureau (@AajeevikaBureau) March 24, 2020

With input from Priyanka Kavish

The post Covid-19 Lockdown: Migrant workers begin to leave city in a painfully long walk home appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Karnataka High Court once again pulled up Bengaluru Police, this time for demolishing makeshift homes at Marathhalli subdivision in Bellandur in January 2020. Last time the court had reprimanded the police and the government when prominent personalities like Ramchandra Guha were detained by the police for holding a peaceful protest.

While the court asked the police to state evidence basis which the conclusion was drawn that the inhabitants of the makeshift homes were Bangladeshi nationals, Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka asked the police, “By looking at the face of a person, can one be identified as being a Bangladeshi national?”.

Several people were rendered homeless as the police demolished the makeshift homes after evicting the residents, in a demolition drive on January 12, 18 and 19. A plea was hence filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties challenging these demolitions. The petition claimed that many residents in the migrant settlement were from Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has stated that the demolition was unauthorized while it acted upon the police direction.

The Court, on February 10, has hence directed that the inhabitants of the homes be rehabilitated and has directed the government to submit a comprehensive rehabilitation scheme to that regard.

The counsel for Karnataka state government submitted that the Marathahalli station police inspector B P Girish has been suspended for providing false information that led to the incident (demolition). The residents of the sheds have been identified as migrants from Assam and Telangana.” Hence, this incident has brough to light the misinformation being spread by Bengaluru police time and again that there are many illegal Bangladeshis living in Karnataka.

The Bench comprising of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Hemant Chandangoudar also ordered the state to provide either monetary assistance or temporary accommodation to such persons as interim relief. The court further asked the state to also ascertain the people who were affected by this haphazard and unwarranted demolition drive and then proceed with rehabilitation.

The bench also held BBMP responsible for rendering the laborers homeless, for acting without proper instructions and authorization. The bench held that the fundamental rights of the laborers had been violated. “Along with the Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner, find out what arrangements can be made to rehabilitate them. Submit a detailed project report within a month,” the bench said, adjourning the case for further hearing on February 26.

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The post K’taka HC raps admin and police, asks govt to rehabilitate laborers touted as “Bangladeshis” appeared first on SabrangIndia.