5,239 migrant workers registered in Solan district since January

As many as 5,239 migrant workers are engaged in various activities in the district, according to the figures of registered migrants for the year obtained from the Solan police.

Police step up vigil

• All shopkeepers, house owners, hotel operators, owners of small industries and contractors have been asked to ensure police verification and registration of migrant workers and labourers living or working with them.
• The migrants have also been asked to deposit their Aadhaar cards for registration.
• Besides, the police is keeping a strict vigil on suspicious and anti-social elements after residents expressed concern about the increasing population of migrants amid reports of skirmishes with them.

In a bid to speed up the registration of migrant labourers, a special campaign has been initiated in the last week. Street vendors and labourers engaged in various activities are being identified and registered at the nearest police stations.

It is learnt that a maximum of these migrants who come to work in Solan district hail from Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Solan SP Gaurav Singh said 5,239 migrant labourers and workers have been registered in the district since January this year. Of these, 1,641 are from Uttar Pradesh, 803 from Bihar, 731 from Jharkhand, 681 from Nepal, 281 from Kashmir, while 1,102 are from other states in the country, he added.

The Solan SP said, “As many as 1,207 migrant labourers — 362 from Jharkhand, 359 from Uttar Pradesh, 166 from Bihar, 125 from Nepal, 18 from Kashmir and 177 from other states – have been registered in September.”

The district administration has also initiated a move to identify outsiders operating in urban areas like Solan city. Solan Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma confirmed that a committee — comprising officials of the police, administration and the local Municipal Corporation — was being constituted on Thursday for identifying migrants operating in the city.

Those found sitting/operating at public places without authorisation would be directed to vacate the spots. Besides, the police have already begun their verification and registration process, Sharma said.

The police is also keeping a strict vigil on suspicious and anti-social elements, and initiating preventive action to curb crimes as demand for the registration of migrants has been vociferously raised by several local organisations in the state.

Under the recent campaign to register migrants, all shopkeepers, house owners, hotel operators, owners of small industries and contractors have been asked to ensure police verification and registration of the migrant workers and labourers living or working with them. The migrants have been asked to deposit their Aadhaar cards for registration.

Residents had expressed concern about the increasing population of migrants as reports of skirmishes with them were reported at some places like Dharampur and Garkhal. Their registration would help the police in tracing them in case they flee after committing a crime. It is also expected to act as a deterrent against anti-social elements who could have taken refuge here after committing a crime in their native state.