Caritas creating migrant database from three areas

Panaji: Caritas Goa has begun preparing a database of migrant workers in the state and has set up a migrant resource centre to assist them with opening of bank accounts, filling forms, updating their Aadhaar information and getting information about government schemes.
Caritas Goa is focusing on daily wage labourers at Gandhi Circle, Mapusa, at Pilerne industrial estate and fisheries in Vasco.
“The centre acts as a link between beneficiaries and departments,” project coordinator Feliza Goes said.
The project is undertaken under Caritas India’s Pravasi Bandhu and works to promote safe migration and prevent exploitation. It is being implemented in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Goa.
The team has begun registering the daily wage workers at Mapusa under the central government’s e-shram portal and has conducted awareness camps for them.
“We keep a track of those who have made a health card (vector borne disease check up card) and will be conducting a health camp for them in November,” Goes said.
In Vasco, the project has ensured vector-borne disease checks, through the health centre, for migrant workers engaged on trawlers.
The Salgaocar Law College has set up a legal cell for the migrants at Mapusa.
The need for such a programme was felt when the pandemic hit and the repercussions of the lockdown were felt on a wide scale among the migrants.
“While providing them with basic medical facilities, we are focusing on improving their living conditions, creating awareness of hygiene and ensuring safety at their living spaces and at their work sites, and empowering women to be independent by creating self-help groups,” the Caritas project coordinator said.