Vijayawada: City's construction workers risk their lives to make both ends meet

Vijayawada: Thousands of construction workers in Vijayawada city are working in vulnerable conditions without wearing masks and taking safety measures from Covid-19. The city has already registered more than 1,500 cases. Vijayawada is one of the high risk areas in the State with 44 divisions out of 64 have been declared as containment areas.

In spite of the repeated instructions given by the district administration and the police department to the denizens of Vijayawada to wear masks and maintain physical distance, there is no response from majority construction workers in the city.

With the availability of sand and lifting of Covid lockdown restrictions by Union and state governments, construction activity increased in the city in recent weeks. The realtors are now trying to complete the pending works as early as possible. In this backdrop, the workers are busy with work in many parts of the city. But majority workers are working in vulnerable condition to Covid-19 without wearing masks and not maintaining physical distance. Five to 20 workers work at each construction site.

Mason gets Rs 700 per day and helper Rs 500 per day. The builders are spending money for construction activity but are least bothered about the safety of the workers. Both men and women work at the construction sites. Women work as helpers and men do different types of works both as mason as well as helper.

R Santosh, a construction worker in Bhavanipuram said he does not wear mask because he works with known persons and other workers are very healthy and don't have complications. These workers don't maintain physical distance because it is not possible. It is a collective work and workers have to work in coordination at the construction site.

Corona symptoms are not exposed for 10 to 14 days. If one person is infected, he can transmit to others easily because most of them don't wear masks and gloves. There is a clear risk to the family members, if one worker is infected with Coronavirus.

CITU leader Muzaffar Ahmed said it is the responsibility of the government to create awareness among the construction workers and give instructions that construction workers must wear masks.