COVID-19 Lockdown: Stranded Migrant Workers Are Heading Home As States Start Bringing Them Back
Among the worst affected due to the ongoing lockdown which began on March 25 were the millions of migrant workers from across the country. A nation-wide shutdown at a notice of four hours meant that the migrant workers were quite literally caught off guard with no means of returning to their respective hometowns.?
The migrant workers who lost their livelihoods due to the lockdown were dealt another blow after public transport including buses and trains were also stopped, leaving them stranded.?
Out of sheer desperation, many took the extreme step of walking back home, covering thousands of kilometers on foot for days.Many others stayed back with the hope that things will get back to normal soon, which did not happen.?
Now various governments have started bringing back migrant workers?to their states who were stranded elsewhere in the country.?
One of the biggest mass reverse migration is happening in Uttar Pradesh, where since Saturday, the Yogi Adityanath government has began repatriating migrant workers.The first batch of 2,224 of migrant workers was brought back on 82 buses by the state government from Haryana on Saturday.Another batch of 9,500 people will be brought back by Sunday and the state is gearing up to providing employment to at least 15 lakh persons in the coming days.The migrant workers who are being brought back will be placed under quarantine for 14 days after which they will be allowed to go home.?
Madhya Pradesh which also has a sizable portion of its population stranded in other parts of the country, has also started bringing them back. Some 98 buses carrying 2,400 workers from Gujarat will be the first to reach the state.Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have also started bringing back migrant workers from their state.?
Don't Miss: Contribute To Indiatimes Fundraiser To Help India Fight COVID-19
Last week some 1,200 Kashmiri migrants from various states, who were stranded in Punjab's Pathankot town for the past 20 days were allowed to travel to their villages. They were on their way to JK but the UT administration refused to allow them entry due to lockdown. On this, the Punjab government set up nine quarantine centres for them.Meanwhile, the Odisha government has launched a portal for registration of names of migrant workers returning to the state.?
Thought the state has not begun repatriating migrant workers, Odisha is expecting an influx of some 5 lakh people once the lockdown is lifted. Anyone who wants to return to Odisha after lockdown via any means including air, train or road is required to register by filling up the form at www.covid19.odisha.gov.in.?
But even in the case of Uttar Pradesh, there is no clarity on how migrant workers who are stranded in other parts of the country including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala can be repatriated.
Recently Mumbai had witnessed one of the biggest of its kind gathering by migrant workers demanding that they should be allowed to travel back home.? ? ? ? ?
