Saturday, February 23, 2008

Migrant worker exdous hampering construction in Pune

It comes as no surprise that the Pune builders have started blaming the migrants for late delivery of projects. Most construction contracts have a Force Majeure clause which absolves builders from their liabilities in case of delays. Expect all builders to delay projects and sit on the customers money for more months then planned.
The whole argument of quality workers is bogus since the migrants coming from impoverished regions of UP/Bihar have no skills bar raw genetic strength. What the builders mean is that they are unable to find hard working , strong people who are willing to work long hours at low wages. Its high time the construction industry upped its wages of the workers. On an emotional level I'm not sure how it feels to be building all the houses and apartments and not having a chance to live in half decent place along with your family. For all the investors in real estate I believe its time to reward the faceless worker since if it wasn't for him you woud'nt be looking so smart

The anti migrant violence in triggered off by Raj Thackeray's hate campaign has hit the booming real estate sector in Pune.

A large chunk of the workforce comes from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. But after the anti-migrant violence by Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, these workers have gone back to their home states.

Seriously hampering work on construction projects.

Satish Magar, MD Magarpatta Township said, ''I would normally need about 14,000 to 15,000 workers daily on different locations for our projects, but I have to suffice with just 8000 to 10,000 workers and it's not just quantity but the question is also of good quality workers which we don't get here.''

Satish magar is not the only builder feeling the pinch. There is a huge demand-supply gap in Pune, which is witnessing a boom in the real estate sector.

Lalitkumar Jain, President of Pune Promoters and Builders Association said, ''We are facing a huge crises and we fear that because of the workers going back, we will not be able to meet our delivery commitments almost all the projects will be delayed.''

According to rough estimates, about 80 per cent of the construction workforce in Pune comes from other states and out of this, nearly 60 per cent are labourers from north. Many of them masons, plumbers, carpenters and electricians.

The situation in Pune with regards to the exodus of migrants is not as bad as in other cities like Nashik, but with the boom in the construction industry builders are facing the heat.

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