Fear Of Losing Livelihood Forcing Migrant Workers To Leave Cities As COVID-19 Restrictions Grow

The migrant crisis triggered by the nationwide lockdown in 2020 was an unprecedented event in Indian history and showed the plight of the millions of unorganized workers living in big cities on a small income.

Now over a year later, many of them are reliving the nightmare once again as more and more cities and states are imposing local lockdowns and other restrictions to stop the spread of the second wave of COVID-19.

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Growing fear

Even though the Central government has ruled out another nationwide lockdown, there is a growing fear among the migrant workers that it is going to be imposed again and that they will be left stranded with no income and food.

Over the past few days, trains running to states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and other states from where most of the migrant workers come from are seeing a heavy rush, from people desperately wanting to go back to home, before the transport is stopped.

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Mumbai, which is seeing a high number of new covid cases is also witnessing an exodus of migrant workers.

"This train will go to Gorakhpur. We're leaving the city because COVID-19 cases are rising here," a migrant worker who was travelling in an Uttar Pradesh bound train told ANI.

"We are leaving for our hometown in Uttar Pradesh. As of now, there is a night curfew in place. It is very likely that a lockdown will be put into place. To avoid chaos like the previous lockdown, we are travelling back to our native place. Not sure when, whether we will come back here," another said.

Maharashtra: Amid surge in COVID19 cases, migrant workers in Mumbai are returning to their native places

"We fear there'll be another lockdown. Last time we ran out of money, our families are worried. Our income has been affected too, that's why returning", says a migrant worker pic.twitter.com/HZA11YBg3O

¡ª ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2021

Palpable fears

"Many of them fear that a lockdown will be imposed in the state due to rising Covid cases. However, our state government has no such plans. We do not want businesses or small businessmen to incur losses," Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said adding that "Many of them have not even got themselves tested for Covid-19 and have boarded the train illegally. We are looking into the situation. However, I can assure you that none of them can return back to our state without showing a Covid negative report", he said.

Railway stations in the national capital Delhi too are seeing similar scenes.

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Delhi, like many other cities, has announced a night curfew and is tightening restrictions on movement.

Many migrant workers fear that if they don't leave now, they will be stranded in the city in case of another lockdown.

Not coming back

The second wave of migration also comes at a time when a large section of them working across the country had already returned to their poll-bound states to cast their vote.

With the looming uncertainty, many are now reluctant to return to the big cities.