It has been a blessing for the returned migrant workers desperately in need of jobs to ensure they can stay back home, as well as for job givers.

Bokaro district administration has launched a unique database with details of the workers’ skills and their contact information, to be made available to those looking to mitigate the manpower crisis in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic-imposed lockdown.

A meeting was held between the secretary of Jharkhand Industrial Area Development Authority (JIADA), Bokaro region, Sundeep Kumar, and sub-divisional officer (SDO), Chas, Shashi Prakash Singh, with prominent industrialists and representatives of companies on Sunday to present them with details of the database.

This database comprised the names and details, along with the particular skills, of the migrant workers who had returned to the state recently in the wake of the lift of restrictions after the lockdown.

The administration also introduced a website, Kamgaar, which contains the skills’ details and contact information of the workers with 44 categories.

These include from 639 drivers, 598 carpenters, 543 electricians and 267 painters to labourers, maid, cooks and others.

The industries and business establishments in the district were served with the database of about 13,000 skilled and unskilled workers, and many entrepreneurs have given positive responses, sparking hope of livelihood for thousands of workers.

The database is a list of migrant workers who do not wish to return and are in dire need of jobs to survive.

Of the 25,000 and more people who had arrived in the district, most are migrant workers and students.

A technical team, under the guidance of deputy commissioner had mapped them according to their skills, location and other relevant information on their arrival.

The SDO said, “Though we have more workers in the database, 13,000 workers have confirmed that they want to stay here. It provides all information to those who need manpower and wish to approach them and give jobs. This is a platform to support both the job seekers and job givers. We have received good responses from the industrialists. Few of them have contacted and provided jobs to the workers.”

According to the assessment of the technical team, only around 5 to 8 per cent skilled workers among thousands who had arrived have decided to return, while the rest of them wish to stay back home.

The administration provided job cards to more than 8,000 migrant workers after they arrived here, which helped them to get work under MGNREGA.

“However, the skilled workers need jobs according to their skills and the database came as a huge relief for them. They thanked the administration and are ready to work for a reduced salary in comparison to what they are getting earlier in big cities,” said an officer.

Sunday’s meeting saw more than 15 top industrialists and representatives of companies like Dalmia Cement, Bokaro Distillery private Limited and Elegen Ply as participants.

“We have provided the database to them and they can directly contact the skilled workers,” said Kumar.

“There are many industries which are facing a manpower crunch in this lockdown and the database is of great value for them,” he added.

Owner of Bokaro Distillery Private Limited, Anil Singh, said, “It’s a win-win situation for both industrialists and migrant workers.”

Umesh Jain, the proprietor of Bokaro Timber, said, “We can rely on the database provided by the administration. It will cater to the needs of us and migrant workers both. I found skilled and unskilled workers like computer operators, JCB operators and helpers.”