The Jaiprakash Associates Limited in Punatsangchhu Project II finally allowed 145 workers to leave for their homes in India, today. The company arranged transportation. Five vehicles including four busses left for India via Gelegphu and Phuentshogling. There are 2,700 and about a thousand want to leave. The company plans to send all of them within two months in phase-wise.
Eager to go home, workers once again gathered for confirmation yesterday. 145 workers were all tested for COVID-19.
“We have been here for almost a year and our family members have been calling us. We have our own problems back home. But the company has been asking us to wait for months,” said Vivik Das, a worker with the Jaiprakash Associates Limited.
“When we come to the office to request leave, they tell us to register. And we did that more than a month ago but did not get our leave approved yet. That’s why we are so worried. So, about 80 per cent of workers do not want to come back,” added Nivana Sarker, also a worker with Jaiprakash Associates Limited.
Some of the workers submitted their leave application about eight months ago. They usually go on leave every three or four months.
“About two to three thousand people live and work together so if there is an infection, it can easily spread. This is one reason that we are scared here. Moreover, several annual festivals are coming. We might be kept in quarantine after reaching home and by then, we can take part in the festivals,” added Vivik Das.
The workers have gathered several times at the worksites to request for leave. And recently about 700 workers gathered again when the Minister for Economic Affairs visited the site. The minister assured them to send back in a phase-wise manner.
The President of the Jaiprakash Associates Limited says the workers could not go after March due to the lockdown in India, but with the lockdown relaxed in India, the workers want to leave again. He says some 400 workers have even refused to come to work out of frustrations. But he says there is nothing wrong with the workers.
“These workers have been working with us for 10 to 20 years and they have worked with us on different projects. Even we have some workers who worked in Tala Project. They are not against the company and their only requirement is they should be sent to their homes in their native places because they have already completed enough time here,” said Krishan Kumar Sood, the President of Jaiprakash Associates Limited.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Punatshangchhu project II said if they can bring in new workers on time, there will be no impact on the construction. Jaiprakash Associates is constructing the Dam and the powerhouse of the project.
Changa Dorji
