Perumbavoor: The flow of other state workers into Kerala is triggering a fear in many. Criminal mentality among the migrant workers poses threat to the lives of natives. Locals of Perumbavoor are yet to be relieved from the shock of the murder of Nimisha. She was a college student and the murder was committed because she resisted the robbery attempt. The accused was staying in her neighbourhood.
Following the death of a law student who was brutally murdered last year by a migrant worker, the decision to collect details of other state workers in the state and to provide identity cards to them couldn’t materialise. There is no accurate record of migrant workers’ population in the state. Local self-government surveyed the population of migrant workers in collaboration with police. However, the decision to keep a record of migrant workers has gone in vain due to the carelessness of authorities.
The criminal activities are rising in Perumbavoor where maximum number of other state workers are camped. The Municipality had decided to launch a special cell for the registration of them. It is reported that those who flee their home state after committing the crime, repeat the same in the host state too.
The fact is that, Ernakulam district has turned a safe haven for such criminals. The plywood factories and quarries which employ them maintain no proper record. The main reason is that half of the factories and quarries function illegally without any license. So, they don’t follow employment norms. The house owners also don’t keep any proper records of their tenants. They don’t even know the names and addresses of the other state workers who stay in their property. A house that can accommodate 5 may have ten people staying. Their habit of using drugs begin in the morning. The migrant workers are generally hardworking and spend what they earn in Kerala itself. Malayalees are swayed by this profit oriented outlook.
The situation now in Kerala is that the existence of many business institutions depends on ‘bhais’. They are an inevitable factor in construction industry. Skirmishes between them after booze is a common sight in Perumbavoor. Sometimes it culminates in death. In the absence of petitioners, many such cases are not investigated. In one such incident, a body was buried without identifying the person.
