Construction Workers Locked Down & Out!

30 Mar 2020 Editorial Team

Photo courtesy: Reuters

The Lock Down announcement, in view of the current situation of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 plaguing the economy, should have also provided for the living and travel guidelines for the migrant labour at construction sites. Although the Finance Minister has announced a Construction Workers' Fund , in India, most of the migrant labourers are provided bare living facilities on the construction sites. With the sites being closed under the Lock Down, the construction workers had no option but to fend for themselves. In the absence of any advisory and fearing that they would run out of their accumulated bare minimum savings, since most send all income back to their villages, they decided to walk home. Thousands have chosen to walk from Delhi to villages in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and even Nepal from where they hailed. They would rather rely on the savings back home, their means of subsistence in a bit of land that they own and the family.

Watch this video going viral on construction workers.

Video courtesy: TOI Bareilly

Read my Open Letter to the Finance Minister with recommendations to help the real estate and construction industry recover from the Coronavirus Impact or Covid-19 Impact here.

Also read the Coronavirus or COVID-19 impact of real estate here.

Telangana Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) KT Rama Rao had convened a meeting with the Construction & Builders' Association representatives and stated that all the construction and infrastructure companies should take care of the migrant labourers who are working at their sites. Some of the companies have provided such facilities. This directive comes in a bit late as hordes of migrant workers are already on their way home in many states.

A redeeming feature is that several villages have barricaded themselves in and have made it mandatory for the returning city dwellers to accept a 14-day quarantine outside the outskirts of the village in a makeshift residential facility to prevent infection in the villages. This has happened in Maharashtra and in Andhra Pradesh.

About the Author:
Pratap Padode is Founder, ASAPP Info Global Group, and Editor-in-Chief, CONSTRUCTION WORLD. He is also Founder & Executive Director at FIRST Construction Council and Smart Cities Council India.

Products

10 Sep 2025

Hikvision Boosts Traffic Safety with Smart Entry-Exit Solutions

Smart Entrance and Exit Management Solutions are increasingly vital for improving traffic safety and transport security. Hikvision has introduced advanced systems featuring automated boom barrier gates with multiple pole options, enabling flexible and efficient access control. These solutions address vehicle entry and exit challenges across malls, residential complexes, industrial parks, corporate campuses and retail facilities. By offering detailed vehicle movement records, they reduce risks such as theft or damage while supporting security managers in maintaining safe operations. H..

John Crane Launches Type 8628VL Seal for Ethane Pipelines

John Crane has unveiled the Type 8628VL, a next-generation mechanical seal engineered to address sealing challenges in multiphase ethane and ethylene pipelines. Using spiral groove non-contacting technology, the seal ensures high reliability, operational efficiency, and environmental compliance under volatile pressure and temperature conditions. Ethane pipelines face frequent phase shifts from liquid to vapour to supercritical, often compromising conventional seals. The Type 8628VL, with dual non-contacting seal faces in tandem configuration, delivers hydrodynamic lift, phase-change resilienc..

Embassy’s Paradiso in North Bengaluru Sold Out at Rs 2.04 billion

Embassy Developments has announced that Paradiso, its latest luxury plotted development in Embassy Springs, North Bengaluru, has sold out completely, generating pre-sales of about Rs 2.04 billion. Spread across 6.4 acre, Paradiso offers large-format plots between 4,300 and 4,800 sq ft, starting at Rs 43 million. The project attracted strong demand from high-net-worth individuals and new-age buyers seeking premium plots in low-density, infrastructure-ready communities in Bengaluru’s prime growth corridor. Embassy Springs, a 300-acre township located 15 minutes from Kempegowda Intern..