bangladeshi migrants – The Metrognome

They crossed over into the country and later, Mumbai, without valid papers. 250 Bangladeshis were deported in 2012 by cops.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The numbers of illegal migrants to India show no sign of dwindling. Bangladesh, especially, is guilty of sending the most numbers of migrants to India every year, as police records show, and many of these make their way to Mumbai. This year alone, the Mumbai police have apprehended 1,374 Bangladeshis, of which 250 have been deported.

Last month, too, the I Unit of the Special Branch of the Mumbai Police had rounded up close to 250 Bangladeshi workers employed on major infrastructure project sites in the city. The workers were caught after a series of surprise raids were conducted on these sites, one of which was an MMRDA project, and none of those caught had valid work permits in their possession.

What’s more, illegal Bangladeshi migrants have been found to reside in across the length and breadth of the city. Last week, in a series of raids conducted by the I Unit in such locations as Mankhurd, Ashok Nagar (Borivli east), Thane rural, Navi Mumbai (Kharghar, Kamothe village and Ghansoli), Vasai, Turbhe (Indira Nagar slums), Mira Road, Naigaon, Bhayander and Nalasopara, among others, 328 migrants were apprehended for staying in the city. These comprise over 70 children as well. The raids were conducted by special teams on December 6 and 8, 2012.

Mumbai alone accounts for 1,374 arrests of Bangladeshi migrants this year. We wonder what the numbers add up to in the rest of the State and the country.

(Picture courtesy flapsblog.com. Picture used for representational purpose only)

1,121 illegal Bangladeshis arrested this year; Special I Branch has carried out drives at major Mumbai construction sites and malls.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Where are the necessary security checks when they are needed the most? Though terror attacks keep striking the city with alarming regularity, and even as the Mumbai police and State Government admitting that the illegal entry of Bangladeshi migrants into India poses a major security hazard for the state and country, the police have rounded up Bangladeshi migrants illegally working in the city from – surprise! – two big-ticket infrastructure project sites in Mumbai.

In a special drive conducted by the I Branch of the Mumbai police last week on November 8, the cops raided the monorail project site undertaken by L&T, a site where beams for an MMRDA flyover were being made by the J Kumar company, and a 50-acre project being developed by L&T and Lodha Builders in Wadala. Of the 2,200 workers rounded up and questioned, 48 were found to be illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

The four contractors working on these sites and who had hired these migrants have been arrested. The incident raises concerns about valid security checks that major companies are supposed to undertake before hiring help on their projects – such as issuing ID cards after verifying the workers’ credentials, checking their antecedents, etc. With such lapses occurring on major infra projects, it is little wonder then, that the city’s housing societies are often guilty of not verifying security personnel’s credentials before hiring them.

A question of security

The I Branch had, earlier this year, identified the problem of Bangladeshis entering the country illegally and taking up work on construction sites, factories and malls, and started conducting regular drives from June this year. In the period from June 2012 to November 8, the Branch picked up 734 illegal migrants from various spots in BKC, Ghatkopar, Kurla, Pant Nagar, Byculla, Parel, Dadar, Worli and Vikhroli. Till date, 1,121 such illegal migrants have been arrested in 2012, and 250 more have been deported to Bangladesh.

As per a press release issued by the Branch, “India’s security is at stake with the entry of illegal Bangladeshis. These migrants have also been found to part of several fake currency rackets operating in the country, and in helping terror outfits.” The release adds, “Bangladeshis enter the country via West Bengal, and the contractors over there send them for work purposes to Mumbai. They are paid very little wages, and since they are here illegally, they cannot complain about the low wages they are paid.”

(Picture courtesy www.hollypickett-com.photoshelter.com. Image used for representational purpose only)