They Left Cities To Never Return But Joblessness Is Forcing Migrant Workers Change Their Mind

Starting in late March following the announcement of the nationwide lockdown, India witnessed an unprecedented reverse mass migration where millions of migrant workers who were left without jobs and income, went back to their home towns and villages.

BCCL

While going back, many had vowed that they are done with the big cities and even if they have to die of hunger they will stay back in their villages.

Many had hoped to find work on farms or do some agriculture on their own to survive.

BCCL

But four months since they went home, many are already back in the big cities or are waiting for a call from their employers asking them to come back.

Migrants unable to find work

This is because they could not find work to make ends meet and feed their family. The rural economy which also was heavily dependent on the remittances from the migrant workers could not sustain without it. The spread of COVID-19 to the interiors also made their position particularly vulnerable.

BCCL

However in the cities, despite the number of COVID-19 cases being on the rise, industries, factories, construction sites, and other workplaces have opened up.

This was too good an opportunity to let go of the millions struggling without work. So they have been flocking back to the cities, which have put in place restrictions or protocols on arrivals.

On Monday, hundreds of migrant workers from the countryside who had left the capital New Delhi in March returned in buses and were made to wait in lines for rapid COVID-19 tests.

Those who tested positive were sent to quarantine centres while the rest were allowed to leave the city's busy inter-state bus terminus with their luggage. Almost all of them wore masks or covered their nose and mouth with scarves or handkerchiefs, though in the countryside such virus-fighting measures have become tough to enforce and the infection rate has surged.

In Noida, the health department is gearing up to deal with a "second wave" of infection due to the return of migrant workers from various districts of Bihar and eastern UP that have a high caseload. As there is no restriction now on movement of people or transport, so tracing those who are coming back to the district from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh would be difficult.

Despite the fact that Mumbai is one of the worst affected cities, according to recent data by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, thousands of workers have been brought back by engineering firms to complete the metro projects, including Dahisar East-Andheri East metro 7 line.

Among others, real estate players too are taking initiatives to bring back the workforce to complete the stalled projects.

"Labourers are coming back as they need jobs. Generally this is the season when they go to their villages for farming or to attend marriages. But they return soon," a labour contractor said.

Other cities like Surat and Bengaluru have also seen an increase in the number of migrant workers returning in the past few weeks as industries open up in the new normal.