Mild tension prevailed in Telangana’s Nalgonda town on Sunday, October 2, when two working class groups pelted stones at each other, causing chaos and affecting traffic on the main road. A fight broke out between the native daily wage labourers and migrant workers from Bihar over the issue of ‘migrants affecting the livelihood of local workers by taking over jobs’.
Videos of the incident showed men with sticks and some hurling stones at each other. People had to flee and take shelter where the stones could not reach them. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the clash and no property damage was reported. The police said that they have CCTV footage of the incident, based on which they would identify the culprits responsible for the violence.
According to the police, the incident took place around 9.30 am on Sunday near the labour adda of the town. The local daily wage workers sat on an impromptu protest, registering their angst against the migrant workers for allegedly charging much less for work which in turn was diminishing their job opportunities.
“The local workers did not obtain any permission from us prior to their protest. They gathered as usual at their regular spot and raised slogans against the migrant workers. This led to the opposite side throwing stones at them. The local workers also retaliated with stone pelting,” said Nalgonda One-Town Circle Inspector (CI) Gopi.
The CI said that they quickly rushed to the spot and dispersed the two groups. None were injured in the incident, the CI said. “We have collected CCTV videos from the spot. We are identifying the culprits from both the groups who participated in the violence. Action will be taken against them,” the CI said.
The police have filed a case under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 290 (punishment for nuisance), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 149 (Offence committed by any member of an unlawful assembly).
The incident also reflects the unemployment crisis prevailing in the country. The BJP-led Union government had said that 9,140 persons had died by suicide between 2018 and 2020 due to unemployment. Among these deaths, the highest number of suicides –3,548 – was reported in 2020, the year when the lockdown was imposed to curtail the spread of COVID-19. The pandemic affected several industries, resulting in job loss. Those involved in the unorganised sector were particularly affected by the pandemic.