TN a safer home during pandemic, say workers from UP

TN a safer home during pandemic, say workers from UP

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.05.2021

Not Uttar Pradesh (UP), Tamil Nadu is a safer place to stay in the midst of the raging pandemic for several guest workers hailing from UP. Many of them, who hail from Gorakhpur, erstwhile LS constituency of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, prefer to remain at their workplaces in Tamil Nadu rather than return to their hometown as they feel there is better health infrastructure here.

“We see the situation in our home state on TV. It is grim,” said Ram Prakash (name changed) from Gorakhpur, which elected Yogi Adiyanath to the Lok Sabha for five consecutive terms. Gorakhpur is famous for Gorakhnath Math and the CM of the state Yogi Adiyanath is the head of the Math.

Nearly 30 workers, all hailing from places in and around Gorakhpur, are working in Chennai and its suburbs, said Prakash.

Except for the shortage of raw material to continue the work during the lockdown, there is no compelling reason to think of a shift now, they said. “Tamil Nadu is a safe place to work. It is like a second home for the workers from our state,” said Lal Yadav, another native of Gorakhpur.

Nearly15 workers from his home state are working for him. They hail from Gauree Mangalpur and surrounding areas in Gorakhpur. They are engaged in painting in Ambattur, Anna Nagar and Ramapuram in Chennai. “They are very much worried about the wellbeing of their families back home. There are only two medical college hospitals in our place (Gorakhpur) and the situation is heartwrenching,” said Yadav, who settled in Chennai eight years ago. He said he is one among the 100-odd agents from UP, supplying workforce from there to various industries here. “Everyone is concerned about what is happening in our home state,” he said.

Next to Bihar, workers from UP account for the largest chunk of guest workers in Tamil Nadu. The Southern Railway operated 55 of 218 Shramik special trains from Tamil Nadu to UP between May 1 and June 2 last year.

Next to Bihar, workers from UP account for the largest chunk of guest workers in Tamil Nadu