CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has decided to install resting sheds for construction workers in the city. Last week, the civic body had installed a lounge for gig workers in Anna Nagar.
Now, the Labour department plans to install 50 resting sheds across the State, including urban local bodies and the Corporation area.
Mayor R Priya Rajan told DT Next, “For the first time, GCC will be installing the resting shed for construction works on a pilot basis. In the morning hours every day, we see groups of workers standing for at least an hour at places including near the Binny Mill in Otteri, near Thiru Vi Ka Nagar depot, Saidapet Metro station, etc. For their benefit, we’re planning to construct resting sheds in such places.”
The Labour department has allotted four locations within the Corporation limits. As a result, the civic body’s Special Projects department took the initiative and prepared a model of the resting shed. “Aptly named, ‘Facilitation Centre for Construction Workers’, it will have seating arrangements, fans and toilets. Budget for the centre is not yet fixed. Plan is being developed; soon works will speed up. The centre is likely to be constructed in the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Anna Nagar and Kodambakkam zones,” explained an official.
A senior official in the Labour department said, “In the urban local bodies, 46 locations have been chosen. These centres are likely to come in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirupur, Salem and Tambaram and other local bodies as well.”