The hidden struggle of migrant workers

The hardships of ten families that live under the Screw Bridge near Pakeergudem gives a unique introduction to poverty and inequality; that no economist could have adequately illustrated.

A hundred other construction workers, who come to the city from distant places such as Warangal and Prakasam districts for 10 to 15 days in a month for work, also stay under the bridge.

The workers are occasionally visited by venomous snakes but not a single Government official. The utter penury of these workers lurks behind the facade of the glitter of the Capital city.

K.Venkatarao, an earthworker who has been living under the Screw bridge for the past two years earns Rs 400 per day and finds work only for three days in a week. His average monthly income ranges between Rs 5000 and Rs 6000.

“I have to shell out at least 2000 bucks to rent a relatively decent house in Pakeerugudem. As half of what I earn goes into rent, so I opted to stay under the bridge because I don’t have to pay from my pocket there”, says the worker.

After accounting for his monthly expenses of around Rs 4000, he is left with a meagre amount of Rs 1500 (on an average). It is literally a hand-to-mouth existence for Venkatarao’s family, even with no rent burden.

Around 40,000 other workers live in inhospitable environments under five other bridges in the city such as Raghavayya bridge, Vegetable market bridge, American hospital bridge and Veterinary hospital bridge. Their existence seems to be an irony in the swanky Capital city.

AP construction workers’ union President, Pilli Narasimha Rao commenting on that said “A majority of the under-bridge inhabitants are migrant workers. Some of them are sand and gravel workers, who come from Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Orissa. Some others are construction workers.

They come all the way to the City to earn money. They avoid renting out a room as that would eat into their incomes.” The workers choose to live under bridges in squalid and inhuman conditions to avoid the exorbitant rents that they otherwise would have to pay.

After the City assumed the much-celebrated Capital status, the rents for residential houses and apartments appear to be on the rise. The steep rise in the rents can be felt in all the high-class and low-class locations in the City.

The rent of a two room house in Pakeerugudem, a low-end location, almost doubled from Rs 1200 to Rs 2000 in less than a year. In fancy areas like MG Road, Bharti Nagar and Patamata, the rents of residential apartments range from Rs 12,000 to Rs 30,000.

The City seems to be gearing up for a ‘cosmopolitan’ status, which is evident in an overall rise in the standard of living. A major contributor to the trend is the exorbitant rents of residential houses.

Musunuri Bhaskar, a resident of Currency Nagar, said, ‘I used to pay Rs 9500 for my flat. It has been eight months since I moved in. The landlady increased the rent by Rs 500 last month. It is unfair to increase rent in less than a year but this happens to be the case everywhere.’

Speaking on the issue, M.V.Anjaneyalu, secretary of Tax Payers’ Association, observed that the rents have almost doubled in most of the areas in the city after the Capital announcement.

He said that the rent of a 2 BHK apartment near Loyola college was around Rs 3000 a couple of years ago, while the rent of the same has now become Rs 8000.

He predicted that the house rents will continue to be on an upward slope for the coming years due to the expected influx of blue collar and white collar employees to the city.