Construction workers make beeline for Delhi govt’s camps in schools

admin August 26, 2020August 26, 2020 0 Comments bank wallah school, Delhi govt schools, government boys senior secondary school, govt schools, state bank of india

New Delhi: Situated amid the congested New Seemapuri area in northeast Delhi, staffers of Government Boys Senior Secondary School were surprised to find nearly a hundred people eagerly waiting for them to open the gates early on Monday morning.
The school, known popularly as the ‘bank-wallah school’ thanks to its proximity to a State Bank of India branch, is one of the 70 Delhi government institutes — one each in every assembly constituency — where the government has set up camps as part of its registration campaign for construction workers from August 24 to September 11.

The camps will help construction workers who are not tech-savvy to register themselves and take advantage of nearly 18 financial assistance schemes.

“Our school has been designated for registration of construction workers but we didn’t expect so many to turn up on the first day itself and that too even before we reached and opened the gates,” a staff member who was managing the queue said.

Workers are allowed in only after thermal scanning at the gate and strict social distancing norms are followed inside, he added. “We have also distributed food and ration here during the lockdown and are adept at the drill.”

“I read about the registration of construction workers in the newspaper and came here as I was finding it difficult to register online,” said Sunil Kumar, a painter. “I have brought all my documents, including voters’ ID, bank passbook, Aadhaar card.”

Many of those who queued up were those who had already registered on the government portal but were awaiting verification. “I read that verification will be carried out at these camps, so I have come,” said Mukesh Pal, a mason.

Delhi government officials manning the camp had to patiently inform workers about the process as many were confused about the documents required. Some also said they lacked certification of work, which was required for registration.

“I have been out of work since the lockdown started and there is no work to show. I also don’t have any certificate from the jobs I did earlier,” said Avdesh Kumar, a carpenter. “I hope to get financial assistance after the registration,” he added.

Officials at the camp told him that a certificate of working for 90 days in the past 12 months, issued by an employer or a trade union, was required. He is also allowed to give self-certification but he can face action if it is found wrong, Kumar was informed.

For registration, the age of a worker should be between 18 and 60 years and they also need to submit a photograph, local ID proof, bank account number and the Aadhaar card.