Daily wagers shifted from Nalugu Kalla Mandapam

Tirupati: The ever-bustling ‘Nalugu Kalla Mandapam’, which is an ‘adda’ for migrant workers wore a deserted look on in the town on Monday. In the early hours, police officials shifted the construction workers to another place at TUDA grounds citing traffic problems as the reason. Hundreds of dailyn wage workers reach Nalugu Kalla Mandapam in the early hours daily in search of work. People from the surrounding districts also reach Tirupati in search of work.

The ‘Nalugu Kalla Mandapam’ was located at an important centre connecting the busy Gandhi road, Tilak Road and G Car street which are adjacent to the railway station and Bandla street. With the workers gathering on the middle of the road throughout the day, people are finding it difficult to move freely which is disrupting traffic frequently. There was a proposal which was pending for a long time to shift the workers ‘adda’ from that place to Indira Maidanam near TUDA office. It was opposed by the workers and left parties in the past.

Now, as part of the smart city initiative, the authorities have focused their attention on clearing the traffic hurdles and naturally, their focus was laid first on Nalugu Kalla Mandapam. The police force landed at the place on Monday morning and asked the workers to clear the place. Though, workers opposed this move, most of them had to leave the place initially.

Later in the day, left parties entered the scene and organised a dharna at Nalugu Kalla Mandapam with the workers. They said before taking any step to shift the workforce from that place, the authorities have to provide an alternate place with basic amenities. There should be a proper notice which people should know so that they can approach workers without any difficulty, they said.

The police took down their representation in this regard. However, the workers were opposing the decision. Speaking to The Hans India here on Monday, they said that for several years, they have been coming here for work and it was not fair to evict them. A worker from Magnalam area, Rajendran said if they go to Indira Maidanam they may have to forego their livelihood at least for some days till the people were accustomed to that place.