The controversy regarding the exact number of migrant workers from West Bengal was raised in the state Assembly on Friday, when the Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Naushad Siddiqui wanted to know about the figure from state labour minister Moloy Ghatak, during Question Hour session in the House.

Mr Ghatak, while replying to the question raised by Mr Siddiqui, said that 21,59,737 migrant workers from West Bengal work in other states. Most of these workers go to Maharashtra.

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The minister could not furnish the number of state’s migrant workers working in other states, other than Maharashtra.

The registration of the migrant workers from this state has started one year ago, said Mr Siddiqui, adding, “I had raised the same issue in 2022 but the state government didn’t answer. Many migrant workers of our state are still stranded in the Wayanad landslides disaster in Kerala. They can’t be even contacted by the state government.”

Mr Ghatak said that 155 out of 242 workers stranded in Kerala, due to the landslides, have been contacted so far by our government.

Among the interstate migrant workers working in Kerala, those from West Bengal form a major part.

According to the last Census in 2011, there has been a higher influx of migrant workers from West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Bihar to Kerala in past two decades.

The Mamata Banerjee government has already set up a Migrant Welfare Board, first such body in the state aiming to help workers migrating out of the state in various ways. The prime aim is to prevent workers from the state to migrate elsewhere.

The board has already launched a web portal, Karmasathi for the registration process of the migrant workers from the state. Verification of more than 15 lakh workers has already been made, according to a source in the board.