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Madikeri, Jul. 21: One or the other problem is getting worse in the Malnad region including Kodagu district due to the increasing number of migrant workers every day, and now another shocking information has come to light.
It has come to light that the migrants who have come to the district for work from Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in North India are expanding their reach day by day, becoming a menace to Malnad and are now engaging in other dangerous activities. There is no doubt that this will become a thorn in the Cauvery soil in the future. It has also come to light that a letter has been sent to a Kodagu plantation to give timber trees to a North Indian contractor. There is also suspicion that they have changed their names for business. The migrant workers themselves have claimed that the Bangladeshi nationals have come under the guise of migrants. Since Assamese and Bengali languages are different, many Bangladeshi nationals have settled in the hills.
Aadhaar card by creating fake documents
In most parts of Kodagu, information has been received that some plantation owners are helping migrants to create fake documents and get Aadhaar cards. Migrant workers have been given Aadhaar cards in Cheriyaparambu village, Napoklu and surrounding villages under Bhagamandala police station. According to information, a total of more than 40 Aadhaar cards have been made by migrants. There is information about them applying for Aadhaar cards after obtaining the non-requirement and residence certificate from the local gram panchayats. It is unfortunate that locals are seen cooperating with the Aadhaar network. Most of the mobile numbers entered for Aadhaar cards are now invalid.
Aadhaar cards for migrants in Madikeri, Kushalnagar
There are suspicions that a network of people creating fake Aadhaar cards is operating in Madikeri, Kushalnagar and Ponnampet. According to migrants, Aadhaar cards are being issued at a cyber center in Madikeri. A network of people creating fake documents and making Aadhaar cards is active across the district, and it is said that local leaders of some villages, panchayats and some parties, and youth are secretly involved in this network. There are allegations of protection of migrants by influential locals.
Secret meeting about Kodagu plantations!
Extensive discussions about coffee plantations in Kodagu are now taking place continuously in the WhatsApp groups of migrants. There are constant discussions about which estate, who is the writer, who is the owner, how many acres, what is the salary, how is the payment, who are the other workers, what are the facilities there, how much is the salary, how many other people are there in the plantation, etc. Those who consider themselves leaders of the migrant workers working in the coffee plantations share information in the groups they have created through their WhatsApp. They are also advised in the groups to buy materials from North Indians in the fairs. The leaders ensure that the matters discussed in the groups are implemented by the workers in the plantations. Here, there is no question of being Hindu or Muslim, there is also a strict order to be North Indians overall.
Information about all the estates in the hills.
They have complete information about hundreds of coffee plantations in the hills. After sharing information about how much is the salary in which estate, how much is paid for a kg of coffee, how much is paid for picking black pepper or how much is paid for a kg, the admins set the prices. The owners of the plantations are pressured by the writer or manager to pay the fixed rate. If the wages demanded are not paid, they are immediately transferred from that plantation to another. A team is working in the district to transfer them. Assamese labor leaders who are in contact with different owners ask how many people are needed for each plantation and bring them there. There is no doubt that the migrant workers, who are aware of the shortage of labor in Kodagu, are keeping the plantation owners here under their control.
Crimes
There are many cases of cow slaughter by migrant workers in the district in the police records. Cases of assault, robbery, and attempt to murder of innocent people have also been reported against plantation owners. It is also necessary for plantation owners who are experiencing a shortage of labor to take refuge in them.
Assam Workers' Union
An unofficial secret union has also been formed for the workers working in Kodagu. These members who gather on weekends or fair days discuss the happenings of their workers and the plantation. Discussions are held on how to get facilities to complement the problems and a plan is also made here to implement it. Apart from this, permission is given to trade in local fairs through the local leaders here and ‘entry’ is given to the fair. They also have a mandatory rule that their people must trade in the fairs with them.
Harassment of girls in the plantations
Most of the workers in the coffee plantations of Kodagu are tribal workers and many have expressed their pain about the constant harassment they are facing from migrant workers. Also, it is now common for girls to be teased in Hindi or their languages that they do not understand while walking! It is also a pain for the tribals that they do not mind mental harassment of school children. Physical harassment is also happening and in a situation where they cannot speak out for fear of being told
