Bihar delegation satisfied with TN govt's safety measures for workers

The Bihar delegation expressed satisfaction, noting the 'fake videos' posted on social media were propagated as ground reality in Tamil Nadu.

Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu):A four-member team appointed by the Bihar government arrived in Tamil Nadu on March 4 to take stock of the situation following allegations of attacks on North Indian migrant workers. They took part in a meeting convened in the Tiruppur district Collectorate on Sunday. Bihar State Rural Development Local Government Secretary Balamurugan, Labour Commissioner Alok Kumar, Special Task Force Superintendent of Police Santhosh Kumar, Intelligence Division IG Kannan and others participated in the meeting.

Tiruppur District Collector Vineeth, Tiruppur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Praveen Kumar Abhinabhu, Tiruppur District Superintendent of Police Sashang Sai, Dindigul DIG Abhinav Kumar (originally from Bihar), as well as exporters, industrialists and Labour Union representatives from the districts were present during the meeting.

The meeting, which went on for more than an hour, discussed issues, including that of migrant workers' safety and measures undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government. Addressing the media after the event, Bihar State Rural Development Local Government Secretary Balamurugan expressed satisfaction with safety measures implemented by the state and district administration, and thanked them. "We spoke with many union representatives here. The apprehension (of harrassment) has been created due to the spread of fake videos posted on social media as incidents in Tamil Nadu. The Tiruppur district administration has explained steps taken since March," he said.

"They set up a Control Room, made announcements in Hindi through loudspeakers, dealt with migrant workers through knitwear companies, and immediately booked cases against those who spread rumours. The steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government and the district administration are satisfactory," the representative observed. While delivering the address in Hindi, Balamurugan hoped that if it is aired, "the fear of migrant workers will be removed".

Following this, Tiruppur District Superintendent of Police Sashang Sai said that a case was registered against three people for posting false information on Twitter, YouTube as well as Facebook pages. "We have filed lawsuits and recommended YouTube and Twitter to ban certain videos. They (videos) spread rumours to make money and increase viewership. We have also recommended freezing their bank accounts," he further noted.

Notably, a similar delegation was deputed by the Jharkhand government on Sunday by orders of Chief Minister Hemant Soren to probe the attack allegations. "The Jharkhand team members interacted with the Tamil Nadu government officials and around 700-800 migrant workers to take stock of their situation. The team also left for Coimbatore from Chennai to enquire about other labourers," an official statement said. It further said that the state Migrant Control Room, operating out of Ranchi, was in constant touch with the workers.