It’s Their Gulf

There’s an influx of labour into Kerala from Orissa, Assam, Jharkhand and Bengal

Migrants work in building and road construction, plywood industry, brick kilns and in hotels

Skilled workers can earn Rs 500-700 a day

Researchers estimate there are 10 lakh outsiders working in Kerala. No official figures exist.

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O n Sundays, the Gandhi Bazaar in Perumbavoor, a small town in Kerala near Kochi, brims over with migrant workers from India’s east. It’s a meeting place and they congregate here with the week’s wages. Makeshift stalls spill out on to the road as the people throng to buy clothes, Bengali beedis and other stuff from back home or simply hang out. An Oriya bhajan in a CD shop competes with Assamese singer Akashdeep in another store. Tucked away in a corner, Rihaj, from Orissa, runs a tailoring shop while City Hotel serves biriyani and Bengali sweets. In fact, Gandhi...