THE Sunday crowds in Little India on Serangoon Road have become almost infamous.

But in whose eyes?

If you were there yesterday, you would have seen Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and Nepalese faces, not to mention Singaporean ones, along its lanes and alleys.

Forming the majority of the Sunday crowd are the foreign workers, who stand out in more ways than one.

Mr Saran Kumar, who is in his 30s and a jeweller at Kamala Jewellers, claimed that these workers are often spotted jaywalking, with little or no regard for traffic lights or moving vehicles.

Mr Karuppiah Nadaraja, 61, vice-chairman of the Little India Shopkeepers & Heritage Association, quipped: 'Little India is a good place to take driving lessons because the huge crowds moving across the roads force you to drive carefully and learn how to use your emergency brake to avoid hitting them.'

DIRTY ALLEYS

The jams are not just on the roads.

Housewife Madam N Sunder, 40, who lives in the Serangoon Road area, said: 'My husband and I used to shop and eat there every weekend. But nowadays, I prefer to go elsewhere as we are afraid of being stuck in the 'human traffic jam'.'

Mr Saran observed that the foreign workers go to Serangoon Road 'after 5pm or 6pm' and gather outside the stores to chat with their friends or relatives.

'They also dirty the five-foot ways and back alleys with their food packets, drink cans or bottles, and they urinate near the drains,' he said.

'Singaporeans do their Sunday marketing and shopping at Serangoon Road before 5pm and then leave, because they do not want to mingle with the foreign workers.'

Mr G Kanniah, 30, an engineer and an Indian national, believes that the crowd on Sunday may have increased by about 10 per cent since last year.

He acknowledged that the foreign workers do litter, but said that the people are largely harmless and keep mainly to themselves.

However, Mr Leslie Kang, store manager of Sheng Siong Tekka Mall hypermarket, said that more frequent police patrols would help tackle issues arising from overcrowding in certain areas, and maintain law and order.

Mr Saran, who raised the issue of workers littering there, said that the media should regularly remind foreign workers to follow Singapore's rules and regulations through more posters and radio broadcasts.

Mr Karuppiah said that it is hard to supervise 'thousands of people within such a confined area'.

While he mentioned earlier that jaywalkers pose a problem in Little India, he did admit that business in the area depends on the foreign workers.

'Without them, the area would be largely deserted and the businesses would be in decline. Some provision shops that sell vegetables and other essentials to these workers make more money on Sunday than on any other day of the week.'

The owner of provision shop Balaji Stores, who gave his name only as Mr Suresh, revealed that he usually earns $5,000 each Sunday in his store, five times the daily takings for the rest of the week.

The manager of Arthesdam Jewellery, who wanted to be known only as Mr Francis, said foreign workers form the bulk of his customers on Sunday.

He said: 'They prefer my store and some other jewellery stores because we stay open longer, usually up to 10.30pm. They buy jewellery worth several hundred or a few thousand dollars, mainly to be sent back home.'

Defending the foreign workers is Mr Kannan Perumal, 40, a construction supervisor who came here from India 10 years ago.

He said that the workers would go to Little India mainly to buy groceries and other essentials, send money to their families back home and meet their agents or fellow countrymen, especially their relatives or fellow villagers.

He said that Indians and other South Asians were attracted by the large numbers of fellow countrymen in the area, its cheap and varied shopping, as well as the restaurants and food centres serving their local delicacies.

For Mr Kanniah, he said that Sunday sees the largest crowd because it is the only day off for many foreign workers.

'As many of them live in dormitories where access to other foreign workers is controlled, that is the only day each week when they can meet friends to find out what is happening back home.'

The best solution, it seems, would be to control the crowds while holding onto their buying power.

Mr John Gee, president of Transient Workers Count Too, a research and advocacy group for migrant workers here, said: 'The best way to reduce the crowds is to build another area with the ambience and colours that the foreign workers love, like a mall selling foodstuff and other items that Indians and other South Asians love. But this is unlikely to happen soon.'

Mr Kanniah said that providing more open areas for the workers to meet could help alleviate the overcrowding.

He also said: 'If more shops in the heartlands sell Indian delicacies, it might help.'

HARM BUSINESS

However, Mr Karuppiah warned that moving foreign workers away from Little India could harm its businesses.

Mr Karuppiah, who is also manager of the Woodlands International Group of Hotels and Restaurants, said: 'Moving the foreign workers out will not necessarily see Singaporeans moving back here.

'Many restaurants and other businesses here, including my restaurant, depend on workers from India because many local Indians do not want to work in Little India.'

This story was first published in The New Paper on 21 April 2008.