Flyover work slow as contractors forced to make do with fourth of labour requirement.
Wondering why that flyover at Lalbaug is taking ages to be completed? Blame it on labour shortage.
According to senior officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), labour shortage has slowed down at least four flyover projects — Milan subway flyover, Sahar elevated road, the new Lalbaug flyover and the Kings Circle flyover.
While the Kings Circle and the Lalbaug flyovers need 200 to 300 labourers each, “we are forced to carry on with the work with only 50 to 60 labourers”, the official said.
“Our contractors have been running from pillar to post to get an adequate workforce,” he said.
As for the Milan subway flyover and Sahar elevated road, “both projects need at least 500 labourers as per the contract. But we do not have even 50% of the requirement”, the official added.
PRK Murthy, transport and communication chief, MMRDA, said: “One must understand that getting cheap labour in cities with a high cost of living is extremely difficult. Moreover, we cannot rely on completely unskilled labourers since our work needs to be done meticulously. Projects such as the Ambedkar road flyover have no doubt suffered due to non-availability of labour.”
Also, he said, labourers find it difficult to earn a livelihood with a daily wage as meagre as Rs200. “Many a times, they do not manage basic facilities such as bathrooms in the city due to lack of space. Whereas, in cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad, they can lead more comfortable lives on similar earnings.”
An MMRDA official said the authority was earlier getting labourers mainly from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. “But the two states have of late ventured into major infrastructure projects of their own, resulting in local labourers not coming to Mumbai. This has forced contractors to hire labourers from Bihar. But they are scared to stay in Mumbai because of obvious political reasons.”
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