Hotel owners seek special trains for migrant workers to return

Kochi: Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) has written to railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw requesting that special train services be allowed to bring back migrant workers, who had gone to their native places to cast votes in the assembly elections. The request was to arrange special trains for transporting workers from Assam and West Bengal, where assembly elections were held along with Kerala last month.Hotels and restaurants, especially the ones in Ernakulam, rely on migrant workers for their business daily. The industry was affected after the migrants returned to their native, forcing many firms to halve their business for the past month amid LPG shortage. "When the migrant workers returned to their native places, we were forced to cut our businesses to half a month ago. Also, the LPG shortage issue surfaced. Though the LPG issue has been addressed, workers haven't returned yet, affecting the hotel industry. Hence we requested the railway minister to arrange special trains from Assam and West Bengal," said G Jayapal, president of KHRA.Around 5,000 eateries in Ernakulam have KHRA membership. Many hotels stopped preparing evening snacks and making juice after the workers went to their native places."We depend on them mostly for cleaning and washing utensils, but not for cooking Kerala recipes. Some employ them to prepare Arabic recipes. Around 15% of hotels across the state remain shut even now as workers haven't returned. Around Rs 1,500 hike in LPG prices in just three months is another issue," Jayapal said."In connection with the recent assembly elections in these states, many workers returned to their native places to cast their vote. However, they are now facing severe difficulties in returning to Kerala due to the unavailability of adequate train services. The existing trains are heavily overcrowded and securing seats has become extremely difficult. This situation has led to an acute shortage of labour in Kerala, severely affecting the functioning of hotels, restaurants and other sectors dependent on migrant workers. The ongoing disruption is causing operational challenges and economic strain across industries," reads the letter written to railway minister.Meanwhile, KHRA also wrote to Union minister of petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri requesting withdrawal of the recent Rs 993 price hike on commercial LPG cylinders.