Kejriwal Has Rules Out Lockdown In Delhi For Now, But Many Migrant Workers Are Packing Bags

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that there is no plan to impose lockdown as of now.

¡°Our attempt is to impose minimum restrictions so livelihoods are not affected,¡± Kejriwal said even as Delhi is reporting more than 20,000 new COVID-19 cases in a day.

But the CM's words are not assuring enough for a large section of the national capital's migrant workers.

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Fearing a repeat of 2020 and 2021, when lockdowns left them stranded without an income and food, some have already left Delhi, while many more are planning to go back to their villages before it is too late.

"Last time, I got stuck in the national capital with my family. The duration of lockdown was extended gradually and I faced a lot of hardship. That's why when this time I heard of curfew, I left the national capital," Hemant Maurya, a migrant worker from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh who left Delhi on Thursday said.

"In the previous lockdown, my kids were staying with me. We did not have money and had to survive without food for one day. After borrowing money from my friend, I returned home. This time, I did not wait for anything," Raju, another resident of Gonda told IANS.

Like most of the migrant workers who have left, Maurya and Raju are ready to come back if the situation improves, but are not willing to take a chance this time.

For those who are staying back, the fear of another lockdown is bigger than getting infected with COVID-19.

BCCL/ File Image

"My family is not worried about contracting the virus. The poor never get it. We are more worried that if there is another lockdown, we will not survive a financial crunch," Meena Devi, a migrant labourer in Karaval Nagar, told PTI.

Laxmi Devi, a domestic help in East of Kailash, is already getting apprehensive about the possibility of a lockdown after the weekend curfew was announced in Delhi."Last time, my employer didn't cut my salary, so I managed it, but many people who live in my colony, who work in households as maids, faced a lot of problems, from managing food for survival to other basic needs," she said.

Raj Kumar, a native of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, who earns his living in Delhi by ironing clothes said he works on weekends too.

There were already less customers and now weekend curfew is there which will further impact my earning, he said

"I had gone back home during second COVID wave and returned in September last year. I can not sit idle here if there is no work and money," Kumar said.

BCCL

Ashok Kumar, an auto driver and resident of Bihar's Motihari, said people like me are worried about livelihood.

"There is uncertainty and fear because restrictions mean less people go out that hits us directly. I also feel government may impose lockdown if cases keep on rising."

Though there are no massive crowds at railway stations and bus terminals in Delhi like in previous years, the rising COVID-19 cases could make many more think about going back home in the coming days.

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