GUWAHATI, April 11 � Though the Assembly polls have concluded, the city will have to wait for a while to avail of the services of migrant labourers whose absence in the last few days has been much pronounced.
It needs to be mentioned here that Guwahati has a population of around 28,000 migrant labourers engaged in various odd jobs like rickshaw pulling, vending, construction work etc. This section of the migrant labourers � majority comprising a religious minority � who announce their presence in all the neighbourhoods in the city since early morning carrying milk, fish and vegetables, go missing only during religious festivals and election. Otherwise they are here in the city doing jobs which are not considered significant, but if left unattended is enough to throw the mundane life of the city out of gear.
�The garbage in my compound is piling up. The labourer who has been picking up the trash has not showed up for the last couple of days,� said Deepali Bhattacharya, a resident of Wireless.
According to the Society for Social Transformation and Environment Protection, a non government organisation, about 60 per cent of the migrant labourers belong to a religious minority.
�Migrant labourers belonging to a religious minority group never miss an election. Most of them come from Dhubri and Barpeta and they visit their families only during festivals and election,� said Dwijen Saharia, programme officer of Society for Social Transformation and Environment Protection.
On the other hand, this same zeal to exercise their franchise is missing in the mainstream society of the State.
�The middle class would be complaining a lot about the corruption and the decay in the system, but when it comes to choosing the right candidates for a government of their desire, they fail to perform their duty,� said Dr Jyotimala Gohain Phukan, writer and educationist.