In the wake of the recent incident where a church collapsed at Aroor wherein two workers lost their lives, the Kochi Corporation is planning to  conduct inspections on various construction sites in the city to make sure that the workers, especially the migrant labourers, are provided with enough safety equipment, hygienic conditions and basic facilities.

Though the Corporation has launched a plan to ensure the safety and security of migrant labourers in the city, it failed to execute the plan effectively which invited criticisms from various quarters.

“Recently, the State Government had given instructions to provide break for construction workers who work for long hours under the scorching heat. The   inspections will make sure that the workers are given mandatory break. Along with that, we will also look whether a proper register is being maintained at the construction sites for the migrant workers and whether they are provided with insurance and other necessary privileges,” Ashraf added.

He said the civic body will also make sure that the migrant workers are provided with proper accommodation as instructed by the District Labour Officer.

“We are planning to launch more programmes for the welfare of migrant population by joining hands with CREDAI,” he added.The Corporation will also organise summer check up medical camps for the for the migrant workers.

Meanwhile, CREDAI officials said the builders have already launched a plan to collect the details of the migrant population in the city. “The CREDAI has advised all the builders to keep the details of migrant labourers with them. Almost all of them are doing this. We have been gathering details of the total number of migrant workers in Kochi from the contractors including photo and voters identity card details. The builders have been doing this much before it had made mandatory,” said CREDAI president Antony Kunnel.

According to a recent survey, it was estimated that Kerala has a total of  2.5 million migrant labour population engaged mainly at construction sector. A majority of the migrant workers are from Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Uttar Pradesh.