NUH FLARE-UP: Migrant exodus hits realty, service sectors
Gurugram, August 8
The panicked exodus of migrants after the Nuh clashes has hit Gurugram’s realty and service sectors hard. With a majority of construction workers, maids, barbers, vendors shutting shops after the alleged constant threat from Hindu outfits, residents have been left high and dry.
The SOS helpline of the Gurugram administration is buzzing nonstop with harried calls from residents, complaining about their househelp, cooks, car cleaner, dog-walkers, barbers, milkmen, vegetable and fruit vendors and even cab drivers leaving in panic. With this exodus, the prices of services have nearly doubled in a majority of condominiums.
“They keep saying everything is normal, but it isn’t. You don’t get cabs for half an hour to one hour on Sohna road as there are fewer cabs. Autos are also less and are charging almost double for the rides. The maids in our area have all taken salaries and left, saying that their landlords had aked them to vacate the premises. My wife and I are senior citizens and not having a maid or a cook is very difficult for us,” says Major Vikram Yadav (retd) of Sector 66. The 24-hour-maid services had doubled the prices, with a full-time trained maid charging a minimum of Rs 35,000 now. The situation was grim for saloons and boutiques as these people formed 80 per cent of the workforce.
The realty market, too, has faced a blow as many small projects have been halted. “These migrants have a monopoly on a majority of constructions works. The projects have taken a hit as many have fled the city and others are scared to step out to work. We are even facing issues getting construction material as transport, too, is monopolised by them. Those who are chasing them out or calling for economic boycott should first arrange workforce from their community and then create nuisance,” said Rajesh Dalal, a builder.
DC Nishant Yadav said the administration was continuously working on building the confidence of people, but it would take time. “The helpline is always ringing with complaints that maids are not coming. Our core concern is restoring confidence in these migrants and help them get back to work. Those who might have left for a brief period will also return. We just need to give them time. It was an unprecedented communal crisis,” he said.
