Thousands of migrant construction workers, who had returned home after a countrywide lockdown necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic, are being brought back in chartered sleeper buses to resume construction in Chennai.Even though Tamil Nadu is the second worst-hit state by COVID-19 with 1.80 lakh cases, the desperation to start work is mutual for builders and workers. Migrant workers are happy to return as most have raked up huge debts in absence of a steady income for months. Builders are focused on cutting losses incurred on account of delay, bank interest and inflated cost of material. They are spending up to Rs 15,000 on bringing back each worker, most of whom are from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, as state-run road transport services remain suspended in Tamil Nadu.
