By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 7: As the state continues to reel from the Thangsko mine disaster, a tragedy that claimed 27 lives and exposed the lethal risks faced by undocumented migrant workers, the scrutiny on non-local labour has reached a fever pitch. Against this backdrop of heightened vigilance, the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) Shella Unit on Saturday intercepted and pushed back 11 workers from Assam who were allegedly heading to work without proper documentation.
According to the union, the workers said they had been brought by an engineer of Lafarge Cement for employment. However, during checking, the KSU found that the workers did not have proper documents to work in the area.
The checking was carried out by the KSU–Shella Unit under the leadership of its finance secretary and publicity secretary. The workers were found to be carrying only Aadhaar cards and EPIC (voter ID) cards and were reported to be from Assam.
As they lacked valid documents, the union sent them back to their place of origin.
The KSU also warned people who regularly bring non-local labourers into the area without proper documents, stating that strict action would be taken against anyone found violating the rules.
