Guest workers protest in Porur, hurl stones at police

The workers from Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh were employed by a Bengaluru-based construction firm in their various sites in the city. They were accommodated at the temporary shanties at Duraisamy Nagar in Porur after the lockdown was announced.

Officials said the workers were unhappy over the poor living conditions and poor food, and became impatient after hearing the news of fellow workers leaving for their hometowns on trains. After they came out of the shanties to stage a protest, Porur-SRMC inspector Sanakaranarayanan and team rushed to the spot and held talks with them.

However, they refused to disperse claiming that their employer was forcing them to stay back to resume construction activities. Ambattur Deputy Commissioner Easwaran reached the spot and assured that the trains were being arranged to all guest workers who wanted to go back to their respective states.

Even as the talks were on, a few workers grew restive and threw stones at the police from inside the shanties in which two police officials suffered injuries. Sources said one of the guest workers suffered injuries when police chased them, adding that the stone pelting was in retaliation. A company of striking force reached the spot but the workers dispersed.