The impact of Raj Thackeray’s campaign against north Indian migrants has begun to hit Maharashtra. An estimated 15,000 migrants employed in industries as unskilled labourers in and around Nasik city have fled the city and hundreds of others are staying away from work for fear of violence, district officials and industry leaders said.
According to a report, unofficial estimates of losses run into hundreds of crores as shortage of workers has crippled production and led to labour contractors jacking up rates. The Nasik region is home to more than 10,000 small industries and over 250 large industries and is one of the bigger industrial centres in Maharashtra after Mumbai.