Birgunj. The number of workers coming from around Birgunj in search of work increases rapidly after 6 am at the clock tower located at Ghantaghar Chowk in Birgunj. Workers park their bicycles on the main road in front of the Nepal Telecom building near Ghantaghar Chowk and wait for employers on the road.
As soon as they see a new person who turns to look at the workers sitting on the road, the workers who have come in search of work run and jump, wondering if it is the employer or the employer’s person.
This scene has been going on at Ghantaghar Chowk for years. Like other days, on Chaitra 21, Rambalak Chauhan of Prasauni Birta, Birgunj Metropolitan City-23, came to Ghantaghar Chowk in Birgunj in search of work after finishing his morning dance.
‘We always watch to see when the job seekers will come,’ Chauhan said, pointing to the clock’s hand towards the Ghantaghar, ‘Look, it’s already 9 am, the job seekers haven’t arrived yet.’
47-year-old Chauhan says that he is forced to go to Ghantaghar to earn a living after not getting work in his own village. Chauhan says that he is a mason. ‘If he could get work in his own village, why would he have to go here?’ He said, “The compulsion to raise six daughters and a son has led me to this point. Despite suffering, I have also given my children a good education.”
Chauhan says that if he gets a job, he will earn Rs 900 daily. “There is only one house on five acres of land in the name of land,” he said. “With a daily wage of Rs 900, he has the responsibility to support a family of nine including himself.”
Chauhan complained that he has problems even with food because he does not get regular work. Chauhan is not alone in wandering around Ghantaghar Chowk in Birgunj in search of work. Hundreds of workers like him come here every day in search of work.
Among those who come here every day in search of work is 45-year-old Raj Karim of Birgunj Metropolitan City-22. ‘If I get work, it is not difficult to support a family of seven,’ he said. ‘If I don’t get work, I worry about how to feed my family members.’
According to Karim, the wages of the ‘labor’ workers in Birgunj are also not equal. ‘There is no standard for our work. Some pay Rs. 750 a day. “Nobody can do 600 without doing anything,” he said. “The wages in the Terai-Madhes are much lower than in the hilly districts.”
Ghantaghar Chowk has been a crossroads for workers and employers for years. Rampukar Sah of Birgunj Mahanagar-2 Chhapakaiyya claims that he gets work only on days when his luck is strong. “We come in search of work every day. But some days we get work, some days we have to return empty-handed,” he said. “If we don’t get work, we worry about how to feed our family of seven, including our elderly mother.”
Sah said that he has been avoiding the burden of a family of four sons, wife and mother. “I never say this job, that job,” he said. “I do whatever job I get.” We have come here to work too.’
Sah workers say they wait from morning to 2 pm in search of work. ‘We wait until 2 pm to see if we can get work even if it is not half a day,’ he said, ‘After 2 pm, we return saying we did not get work.’ Niyazbabu Sheikh, the owner of Samima Construction Pvt. Ltd. Birgunj, who was met at the clock tower, said that he had come in search of 15 workers for the construction of a drain in Prasauni Narakatiya.
‘We have taken the contract for the construction of a drain in Prasauni Narakatiya. “I came here to get workers for that,” he said. “We also come here because we can find workers according to the need.”
Director Sheikh said that the average rate of workers is 600 to 700 rupees. Mohammad Mamtaz Mia, who has a permanent home in Gaur Municipality-6 Sabgada, Rautahat, has also been visiting Ghantaghar Chowk every day in search of work for the past five years.
“Labor workers do not get work every day. I worked for three days. I am forced to stay for three more days,” he said. “Recently, due to the recession, it is becoming difficult to find work even though houses have become less.” Miya says he barely saves Rs. 300 a day.
‘In the village, it is our responsibility to support a family including our parents,’ he said. ‘When we get work, we are making a living.’ When Birendra Patel of Patel Nagar, Birgunj Metropolitan City-21, came to Ghantaghar Chowk to look for two workers to pave the floor of his house, the workers shouted at him, ‘Take me away.’
‘I came here because I can pick and choose workers,’ he said. ‘I had to come here because I couldn’t find anyone to work in the village.’ Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Hari Gautam said that Birgunj’s Ghantaghar Chowk has been functioning like a ‘labor bank’ for employers and workers.
‘Especially unskilled workers come to Ghantaghar Chowk in search of work. They are seasonal workers, especially in the construction sector and those who do ‘loading and unloading’, he said. ‘If 30 workers are needed to demolish someone’s house, there is a tradition that the leader comes and takes the workers.’
President Gautam said that it is difficult for workers who come to Ghantaghar in search of work to be employed in the industry.
‘We gradually train new types of workers in the industry and make them proficient in the work,’ he said. ‘It is very difficult to employ seasonal workers in the industry. Their tendency to not come to work regularly also makes it difficult to manage seasonal workers.’
Most of the Indian workers are employed in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor. It is said that about 50,000 workers are employed in the corridor. There is no exact data on how many small and large industries there are in Parsa and Bara, but it is estimated that there are around 800 to 1,200 industries.
According to the National Economic Census 2075 released by the National Statistics Office, the number of industrial production establishments in Parsa district is 1,646. Similarly, the number of registered establishments in agriculture, forestry and fisheries is 126.
The number of industrial production establishments in Bara is 1,225. Similarly, the number of registered establishments in agriculture, forestry and fisheries is 152.
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