Despite Telangana government’s efforts to stop exodus of migrant labour, thousands of workers have left for their native states after the second wave of pandemic hit the state. Soon after the government imposed the lockdown on May 12, the migrant labour force employed with various projects, especially power, have started relocating.
As a result, the projects are missing their deadlines, forcing the authorities to reschedule them for completion in 2022. “Of the total 6,500 labourers working with Yadadri Thermal Power Project (YTPP) at Damarcherla in Nalgonda district, 5,000 have left for their home states. Similarly, of about 2,500 workers in Manuguru Thermal Power Plant, only 300 to 400 are working now. These workers belong to Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand,” Telangana Genco chairman and managing director D Prabhakar Rao told TOI on Monday.
Officials said though the workers were not infected with Covid-19 and arrangements were made for their stay, they had decided to go back in view of the last year’s bitter experience. “The state government has also assured them of full support but were keen on going back,” Genco officials said.
Genco commenced works on two major power plants apart from enhancing the capacity of units like KTPS to augment power generation capacity to meet the state’s requirements. Work on 4,000 MW capacity YTPP was launched in October 2017, but it missed the deadline last year due to Covid-19 and now again in the second wave. Though Manuguru plant works began in 2015, the fourth unit work is getting delayed due to workers’ exodus. Of the four units (270 MW each), three have been commissioned in the last two years.
“Works on the two major thermal power projects got delayed mainly over getting environmental clearances, NGT cases and other mandatory permissions, a senior official of the project wing said.
“Now with the first and second wave of Covid-19, works have been delayed further. After the lockdown is lifted, we are planning to reschedule the dates for completion and commissioning of the projects,” the official added.
Apart from the workforce, arrival of turbines, motors, boilers and other equipment from various parts of the country was also hit by the second wave and lockdown in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and other states, officials said.
