NE exodus hits tourism industry hard

The rumours of attacks on Northeasterners, leading to their mass exodus, have dealt a serious blow to the hotel and tourism industry in the city.

 According to the representatives of the Mysore Industries Association, about 25 per cent (about 10,000) of people working in the industrial areas in Hebbal, Thandya in Mysore region are from the Northeast.

 Most of them are leaving the city and the granite industry, engineering industry, forging units, flour mills and packaging units are the ones hit hard by the exodus.

 Loading and unloading was mainly done by labourers from the Northeast.

 Northeast workers are known to work 12 hours a day without taking leave on weekends and festivals.

 Similarly 20 to 50 staff working in over 500 hotels and restaurants in the region have had already left for their native places or were planning to do so, said sources.

 However, some hotels like the ones owned by the Mysore Hoteliers Association president Rajendra are hardly affected.

 “We have held meetings to build confidence among our people by promising them security,” he said.

 Mysore Industries Association General Secretary Suresh Kumar Jain said that they are taking special care to ensure the safety and security of workers from the Northeast.

 A K Bansal, a granite businessman from Thandya industrial area said he is feeling the heat as more than 50 people have left to their native places despite assurances of safety.

 Even people from the Northeast working as security guards and in the construction industry are feeling insecure and are returning.