Housing scheme: Beedi workers see dreams go up in smoke

Soon after shifting to their new houses, the workers realised that this was not exactly what they had waited for all these years. With the lack of roads, a drainage system and education facilities making life tough, many of them have returned to their old houses in the city slums. Even if they could tackle the lack of amenities, the Rs 14 they had to spent for daily transportation was burning their pockets.

“I was happy when we shifted out from our slum. But now I want to go back as we have to spend half of the income on transportation. We will change our mind if the factory opens a branch here,” said Rajyabi Shaikh, who owns a house in the scheme.

However, the factory owners are in no mood to open new branches at Kumbhari village, citing issues like octroi and toll tax imposed by the Solapur Municipal Corporation. Talking to The Indian Express, District Beedi Factory Association president Govind Prasad Tiwadi said there were 44 factories employing 66,000 beedi workers. “If we start branches at Kumbhari, we will have to pay double the octroi — first on the raw material and later on finished goods. We also won’t be able to afford the additional toll tax on vehicles,” he said.

“We have requested the SMC to shift the octroi check post beyond the village limit and to scrap the toll tax. We are still waiting for a decision. Once this is done we have no difficulty,” Tiwadi said.

The CITU, which represents the beedi workers, has met the collector to solve the problem and stop the migration of workers back to the city. CITU state secretary Sidappa Kalshetty said that out of the 10,000 workers, only 4,000 have opted to reside in the housing society. “The idea of a housing society was to provide better living condition to the beedi workers. It would be disappointing if the administration fails to solve the issue,” he said.

“The main roads were constructed to provide a smooth ride for the Prime Minister who had come to hand over the keys of the houses. What about the internal roads and other basic amenities?” he asked.