The unrest in Bangladesh and reports of illegal immigration of people from the neighbouring country into India have made the police and industries in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts to step up vigil.
The police have received intelligence alerts on potential influx of Bangladesh nationals into industry hubs like Coimbatore and Tiruppur, where they could seek jobs as migrant workers from east/north-east States.
Coimbatore City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan said the police had been keeping a routine watch on the migrant workforce in the city to curb illegal stay of Bangladesh nationals and other foreigners.
“In Coimbatore city, a large number of migrant workforce from the north-east States, especially those from West Bengal and Assam, are employed in the jewellery manufacturing sector. Manufacturers have already been appraised of the situation to curb illegal immigration. The Special Intelligence Cell is closely monitoring the situation,” he said.
In Coimbatore rural, migrant workers are employed in large numbers in foundries, textile mills, coconut and areca nut processing units in places such as Pollachi and Thondamuthur.
“We will convene a meeting of manpower consultancies, who arrange migrant workers for these sectors. The police have stepped up vigil in view of the current situation in Bangladesh,” said Coimbatore District Superintendent of Police K. Karthikeyan.
According to the police, several incidents of Bangladesh nationals illegally staying in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts, with Aadhaar cards obtained through forged documents, have been reported in the past. In majority of the cases, those held possessed Aadhaar cards with addresses in West Bengal.
Textile associations in Coimbatore and Tiruppur have urged their member units to be cautious while recruiting migrant workers, especially those from West Bengal.
According to K.M. Subramanian, president of Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, there are reports that a lot of people who have come into India from Bangladesh have taken forged Aadhaar cards. Bangladesh has a strong garment industry and hence these workers are said to be coming in large numbers to the apparel units in Tiruppur. Though there was no issue so far, the Association has urged its members to check for the identity card, Aadhaar of the workers and alert the police if there is anything suspicious.
It is difficult to identify people who had come from Bangladesh because they had Aadhaar. It might be easier for these workers to get into the unorganised sector. The government departments should take measures to identify such people, said Mr. Subramanian.
Similar to Tamil Nadu, West Bengal is also a major textile and garment manufacturing hub and hence a lot of workers come to Coimbatore and Tiruppur from West Bengal. Even smaller textile mills have workers from that State. With the recent developments in Bangladesh, there are reports of Bangladesh workers entering India, taking Aadhaar and coming for jobs to the industries here. The mills and garment units need to check the identity of the workers and verify before employing them, said a textile industry representative here.