Bhubaneswar: A visible labour crunch across businesses, including construction and hospitality, has been noticed across Bhubaneswar and nearby cities as hundreds of migrant workers from neighbouring West Bengal have left for their home state to cast their votes in the assembly elections.A steady flow of workers, primarily engaged in construction, shopping complexes, hotels and roadside eateries, began leaving Odisha over the past week amid fears that failure to vote could lead to deletion of their names from electoral rolls, especially following the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bengal.
Builders and contractors in Bhubaneswar said projects dependent on Bengali masons and helpers have seen manpower dip by 10% to 25% in the past few days, leading to slower progress in works.“Many of our highly skilled tile layers and shuttering workers are from Bengal. Many have taken leave together and we can’t even hold them back as voting is their right. We haven’t stopped work, but productivity is clearly down,” said Prashant Dash, a mid-scale developer working in Patia area.The hospitality sector too is feeling the pinch. Budget hotels, fast-food centres and dhabas where a large section of cooks, helpers and cleaners are from West Bengal have trimmed operating hours or even shut their business for a brief period.“We were managing with fewer people, and long shifts are unavoidable. My main cooks are from Howrah and they have left home to cast their votes. I tried to manage with the available staff but couldn’t run the business with the main cooks not around. I have to shut the hotel for a few days now,” Jitendra Hota, a fast-food centre owner in Bomikhal, said.Workers say the decision to leave work to vote this time is linked to anxiety. “There is a fear that if we don’t vote, our names may be removed from the voters’ list later. I can’t take that risk. I want to stay a citizen of this country,” said Mohd Imran Ali who left Bhubaneswar earlier this week.Most workers are expected to return after the second phase of polling on April 29, though contractors say normal manpower levels could take two to three weeks to stabilise. “For now, it is a temporary shock, but it shows how dependent urban Odisha has become on migrant workers,” said Pratap Ojha, a city-based contractor.
