Home » Bangladeshi maid servants go “Out of Range”

Bangladeshi maid servants go “Out of Range”

by Raju Vernekar
0 comment 3 minutes read

IT News
Mumbai, Dec 24

While the CAA and NRC have stirred the country, most of the Bangladeshi maid servants working in and around Navi Mumbai have proceeded on long leave to go to their native places.
According to information, these servants, originally from Bangladesh, had migrated to Navi Mumbai from Eastern states like West Bengal, Assam and Odisha, a few years back and have been working in different households. However they do not possess basic documents like Aadhar card to prove their nationality and due to a fear psychosis, they are rushing back to their “native places” in the hope of getting basic documents.
A housewife residing in an NRA Complex in Seawood said that her maid had been receiving constant phone calls from her native place to return home for the last few days and now all of a sudden she has stopped coming to work and her phone has also been switched off. Another housewife said that her maid servant has proceeded on a month long leave with a request that she be employed back, when she returns.
Most of the Bengali-speaking Muslim from a border town in West Bengal in large number have been working at Digha, Rabale, Turbhe, Shirvane, Vashi, Karave and adjoining areas right up to Panvel for the last few years. Since they are prepared to work on low salary, they are given a preference by local populace. For example if a local maid demanded Rs 700 to Rs 800 per month for domestic work like washing clothes, cleaning utensils, rearing children etc, these Bangladeshis maids are prepared to work for the salary as low as Rs 500-Rs 600 per month. They also found it easy to get rented accommodation in the villages adjoining Navi Mumbai at cheaper rates.
The waves of fears have also affected hundreds of Bengali-speaking people living in Mumbai. The stretch between Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Wadala, which is also knows as the “harbour railway route”, has metamorphosed into contiguous, larger settlements for Bengali-origin Muslim migrants who have moved to Mumbai for work.
Neela Limaye, Secretary of Maharashtra Mahila Parishad said that there is a fear psychosis not only among maids, but also among workers working in construction and other sectors. They fear that they would be arrested under new legislations.
The raids are periodically carried out across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and the adjoining Thane district, as a concerted exercise between the local police and the intelligence bureau of the state CID. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, around 245 cases were registered in Maharashtra alone between 2014 and 2016. While according to data provided by the Union Ministry of Home affairs, as many as 1,770 “Bangladeshi nationals” were deported, between 2015 and March 2018.
The recent arrests include: 14 March 2018-Panvel- (5 Bangladeshis arrested), 17 March 2018-Pune-(three Bangladeshis arrested), 17 November 2019-Dhakta Khanda(Panvel)- (10 Bangladeshis arrested), 14 December 2019-Arnala(Virar)-(7 Bangladeshis arrested),16 December 2019-Nalasopara-(12 Bangladeshis arrested).
While the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act apply to any foreign nationals entering and residing in India without proper legal documentation, the Maharashtra has been seen using it primarily against illegal immigrants who crossed over from Bangladesh from 1990s onward. The arrested persons are tried in a special court located in South Mumbai.
In the meanwhile the state government is already in the process of setting an Assam-like detention centre in Nerul, in Navi Mumbai, to deal with illegal immigrants. The centre will be equipped to accommodate at least 50 persons.

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