COVID-19: Implications of the Lockdown on Migrant Workers
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| Covid-19: Migrant workers are walking towards their home towns from Mumbai. |
Author: Anuj Chaudhary
When India is seeing the world's strictest lockdown amid coronavirus outbreak, there are many side-effects of this confinement. All formal enterprises and informal enterprises have halted their work since the lockdown has been announced. But daily wage workers have been left stranded hundreds of miles away from their home towns.
PM Modi addressed the nation on May 12 and announced a 20 lakh crore relief package which is nearly 10% of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but failed to address the migrant workers' crisis issue. And on the top of that PM Modi came up with "Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan" (Self-reliant India Mission), whereas migrant workers have already been following "Atmanirbhar Mission" and walking on their sore and bleeding feet towards their home towns.
Last week, 16 migrant workers were crushed by a train in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.They were sleeping on the rail tracks after a long walk on foot in an attempt to reach to their home towns hundreds of kilometres away in Madhya Pradesh. While the government has failed to make adequate arrangements for migrant workers, who power our economy, aircraft are being arranged for those coming from abroad. It’s been more than a month. The migrant workers are still walking. They are still thirsty and starving. These are not ordinary people; they have built our homes. They are also Indian citizens and have basic fundamental rights.
State governments as well as central government have failed to provide the basic transportation to these workers. All the state governments are claiming that they are providing these workers with shelter and food but the ground reports are telling a different stories. Indian government has launched the Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate affluent Indian citizens stuck abroad. But no such mission has been seen for these daily wagers.
Every day, there are news of migrant workers and their families, bereft of food and money, and barefoot making all possible attempts to reach their homes. How many must have gone to an early grave not because of coronavirus but because they don't have any source of income to stay back in cities. They can't maintain social distancing in their temporary tents. The state governments have failed to execute their operational capabilities.
Recent railway ministry announcement on running special trains from May 12 has been seeing a major relief for these workers but "Will the most needy migrants get the train tickets?". The trains dedicated to migrant workers are still very less in numbers and on the other hand states and central governments are arguing who will pay for train tickets.
What does the 20 Lakh Core package have for the migrant workers?
These migrants are receiving just Rs 500 per month in their respective bank account from the government. How can one run a family for a month in just Rs 500 and a free ration of 5 kg rice and 1 kg pulses.Finance Minister has announced cheaper loans instead of urgent substantial help for migrant workers. So, overall we can say that this package has failed to bring a smile on migrant labours' faces. Instead of long-term economy reforms and counting on the past schemes, the government should have saved these innocent lives for the sake of humanity. Because this is not a financial crisis, this is a humanitarian crisis.
When India is seeing the world's strictest lockdown amid coronavirus outbreak, there are many side-effects of this confinement. All formal enterprises and informal enterprises have halted their work since the lockdown has been announced. But daily wage workers have been left stranded hundreds of miles away from their home towns.
PM Modi addressed the nation on May 12 and announced a 20 lakh crore relief package which is nearly 10% of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but failed to address the migrant workers' crisis issue. And on the top of that PM Modi came up with "Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan" (Self-reliant India Mission), whereas migrant workers have already been following "Atmanirbhar Mission" and walking on their sore and bleeding feet towards their home towns.
Last week, 16 migrant workers were crushed by a train in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.They were sleeping on the rail tracks after a long walk on foot in an attempt to reach to their home towns hundreds of kilometres away in Madhya Pradesh. While the government has failed to make adequate arrangements for migrant workers, who power our economy, aircraft are being arranged for those coming from abroad. It’s been more than a month. The migrant workers are still walking. They are still thirsty and starving. These are not ordinary people; they have built our homes. They are also Indian citizens and have basic fundamental rights.
State governments as well as central government have failed to provide the basic transportation to these workers. All the state governments are claiming that they are providing these workers with shelter and food but the ground reports are telling a different stories. Indian government has launched the Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate affluent Indian citizens stuck abroad. But no such mission has been seen for these daily wagers.
Every day, there are news of migrant workers and their families, bereft of food and money, and barefoot making all possible attempts to reach their homes. How many must have gone to an early grave not because of coronavirus but because they don't have any source of income to stay back in cities. They can't maintain social distancing in their temporary tents. The state governments have failed to execute their operational capabilities.
Recent railway ministry announcement on running special trains from May 12 has been seeing a major relief for these workers but "Will the most needy migrants get the train tickets?". The trains dedicated to migrant workers are still very less in numbers and on the other hand states and central governments are arguing who will pay for train tickets.
What does the 20 Lakh Core package have for the migrant workers?
These migrants are receiving just Rs 500 per month in their respective bank account from the government. How can one run a family for a month in just Rs 500 and a free ration of 5 kg rice and 1 kg pulses.Finance Minister has announced cheaper loans instead of urgent substantial help for migrant workers. So, overall we can say that this package has failed to bring a smile on migrant labours' faces. Instead of long-term economy reforms and counting on the past schemes, the government should have saved these innocent lives for the sake of humanity. Because this is not a financial crisis, this is a humanitarian crisis.
Very well said! ! There is no mission for workers because they were/are working for country.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, let's see what do they get out of this package?.. Because the government is counting on the past initiatives.
ReplyDelete