Parts of Gurugram are facing an acute shortage of domestic workers and garbage collectors after scores of migrant labourers, mostly from West Bengal and Assam, fled the city, fearing police action amid a crackdown on undocumented Bangladeshi nationals.
The Gurugram police recently intensified efforts to identify and detain illegal immigrants. However, the drive has sparked panic among the city’s migrant workforce, many of whom now fear being wrongly targeted. The sudden exodus has disrupted daily life for many residents in upscale localities.
“Nearly 80% of domestic staff and waste collectors have left in the past few days. Garbage collection has been hit. The municipal vehicle comes once every three to four days now,” said Abhey Poonia, senior vice-president of the Gurgaon Citizens’ Council, an umbrella body of over 80 RWAs.
Residents of Sushant Lok-II and Sector 43 shared similar accounts. A couple living in Regency Park-I said both their help and car cleaner, verified by police, fled to Assam after night raids in their building. “The ongoing drive scared them. Their landlord also told tenants from Bengal and Assam to vacate,” they said.
Migrants from these States typically stay in villages like Chakkarpur, Nathupur, Sikanderpur Ghosi and jhuggi clusters around DLF Phase-I, III and Sector 56.
