Migrant workers resort to stone pelting at IIT-Hyderabad

Two policemen were injured and a police vehicle was damaged as restless migrant workers resorted to violence on Wednesday at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad.

Over 2,000 migrant workers from various states began the protest when they were asked to join the work at construction sites on IIT campus at Kandi in Sangareddy district near here. They refused to resume the work unless they were paid wages for the last four months. They also demanded that they be sent back to their homes.

As the tension mounted, protesting workers resorted to stone pelting on police. Two policemen sustained minor injuries while a police vehicle was damaged, an official said.

Additional forces were rushed to the area and the situation came under control after district administration began talks with the leaders of the employees, who belong to states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

The issue was resolved after the construction company agreed to pay wages for March on Thursday without any deductions towards Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The district officials also agreed to provide fresh vegetables and other essentials to the workers. Talks will be later on whether they want to join the work or return home after the lifting of the lockdown.

The trouble began when representatives of a construction company asked the workers to resume the work, which was stopped last month after the lockdown came into force. The workers, who were staying in makeshift camps near the construction sites, started demanding that they be sent back to their homes. They questioned how the company can make them work without paying wages for the last four months.

According to police, 1600 workers were working at a site by L&T while over 800 were engaged in construction at another site where the work is being executed by Shapoorji Pallonji.