UP maps migrant skills, aims to clones textile story of Vietnam, Bangladesh

Over 12,000 workers found to be trained in garment making and tailoring so far; more than 2.3 million have returned to UP from different states

Amid the influx of migrants from domestic textile centres of Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra following covid-19 lockdown, the Uttar Pradesh government is looking to replicate the success of Vietnam and Bangladesh in becoming major textile manufacturing and exporting hubs.

With the state starting the process of skills mapping of incoming workers, more than 12,000 workers have so far, in the first phase of enlisting, been found to be trained in garment making and tailoring.

Presiding over a review meeting here today, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said if Bangladesh and Vietnam could emerge as major textile hubs, there was every reason that UP could achieve the same status, especially with the growing availability of trained manpower returning to the state.

“The CM has directed the officials to prepare a roadmap for developing the state as a leading textile hub,” UP additional chief secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi said this evening.

He said the skills mapping of the migrants had shown that they possessed vocational skills in different segments, including electronics, electrical, real estate, data entry, furniture, carpentry, auto mechanic, mobile phone repair, garment etc, which could now be harnessed locally.

The state government has decided to involve the district level employment exchanges in the process of providing jobs to these workers by sharing their skills database.

Yesterday, the state had announced to set up a Migration Commission for the welfare of migrants. The government has named the panel as Kaamgar/Shramik (Sevayojan evam Rozgar) Kalyan Aayog.

“Apart from regular employment, we are aiming to create a system of apprenticeship, training and stipend to the migrants,” he added. The Commission will also take steps for insurance cover to the migrants.

Besides, the government is planning to leverage the central stimulus package to provide housing facilities to the migrants.

Under the comprehensive Rs 20 trillion economic stimulus package to overcome the covid-19 challenges, the Centre has announced a scheme to help the migrant labourers in getting residential accommodations. The central government will provide affordable rental housing to the migrants and urban poor under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme.

So far, more than 2.3 million workers have returned to UP from different states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand etc. On an average, more than 150,000 migrants are coming back every day due to lockdown.

The government has already arranged for 1,361 Shramik Special trains to ferry UP workers, of which 1,174 trains have already arrived carrying nearly 1.6 million labourers. Besides, estimated 6.5 million migrants had also returned either on their own or ferried by the roadways buses from mainly Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand etc.

Meanwhile, the ASHA (accredited social health activist) workers have surveyed more than 0.85 million migrants and reported 892 suspected cases to the state medical department.