Co-living spaces in Hyderabad converted to shelter homes for migrants

HYDERABAD: In an attempt to ensure that migrants who have lost their jobs during Covid-19 second wave don’t walk back home, a group of entrepreneurs in the city has converted co-living spaces into a shelter where they provide free accommodation and food to the migrants.Tikaana Coliving, the shared accommodation company, has rented out 18 buildings with a capacity of 2,000 beds to cater to blue collar employees such as security guards, hotel staff, nursing staff, construction workers, housekeeping staff among others. Following the Covid-19 lockdown, the group of entrepreneurs decided to convert the facility into a free accommodation for migrants who have lost their jobs during the second wave.“In the first wave, we saw lakhs of migrant workers walking back to their hometowns due to loss of livelihood. This time, when the second wave hit, we decided to extend help to all such people to ensure that they don’t suffer,” said Karthik Reddy, co-founder of Tikaana Coliving, who runs the company with two other partners _ Prudhvi Reddy and Raghu Bojja.The facility, which also has a centralised kitchen, currently houses 600 migrant workers. The company is not just offering free accommodation and food but also helping migrants find job opportunities.“Six months back I came to the city to work in a hotel. Due to the lockdown, I lost my job.At a time when I was strongly considering going back home, one of my customer’s told me about Tikaana where I was not only given free accommodation and food but was also employed in their centralised kitchen for a monthly salary of Rs 10,000,” said Bhima Shankar, a resident of Gulbarga.