Kerala govt to launch 'Athidhi Portal' on Monday for registration of migrant workers

The 'Athidhi portal', a user-friendly web portal to expedite the registration process for migrant workers in Kerala and introduce a unique identification system, will be launched by the state government on Monday.

In the wake of two recent sexual crimes against children, which were allegedly carried out by migrant workers, the Kerala government has decided to speed up the registration of the "guest workers" -- as they are addressed by the Left government.

On July 28, a five-year-old girl abducted from Aluva in Ernakulam District was brutally raped and killed allegedly by a migrant worker from Bihar. The child's family too hails from the same state. In another incident, on August 4, Malappuram police arrested a 36-year-old man, a migrant labourer from Madhya Pradesh, for allegedly sexually abusing a minor child who also hails from there.


State Labour Minister V Sivankutty said officials will ensure that no guest worker is left out from the portal. "The government will also consider setting up help desks at railway stations where guest workers arrive in large numbers," the minister said in a release.

The statewide launch of the portal and registration of guest workers will be held on August 7, the Labour department said. Contractors, who bring guest workers to the state, and employers can register the workers in the portal. It also allows workers to register themselves individually as well.

The enrolling officer will examine the details entered in the portal 'athidhi.lc.kerala.gov.in' and issue a unique ID to each worker, the Labour Department said.

The portal will collect information regarding the workers and ensure that they have social security, Labour Commissioner Arjun Pandian said. Sivankutty had earlier said that presently migrant workers are regulated according to provisions of the Inter-State Migrant Workers Act of 1979.

He had also said that over five lakh migrant workers are registered under the Awas Health Insurance Scheme introduced for them, and the labour department will take steps to identify all unregistered workers and get them onboard as well.