LIFE OF MIGRANTS DURING COVID-19
Man dies walking 200km to home. Videos of migrants cycling miles carrying children on their back. Thousands stranded in cities without food and water. This is only the tip of the iceberg. The plight of the migrants during COVID-19 is disheartening.
Let us brush up on the basics.
Migrants are those who move from one place to another(can be within country or between countries) either temporarily or permanently due to various reasons. The most dominant one being better employement opportunities. More than 20% of our population are migrants. Most of them leave their families in hometowns. They are daily wage earners. Rickshaw pullers, hawkers, street vendors, construction workers, workers in unorganised(some even in organised) sectors are few of them.
The virus had put their jobs, life and future in uncertainty.
The country is under lockdown for more than a month and we are having a great time binge watching, baking, spending time with family etc. But the other side of the country, the dark side, migrants are running out of money. A day without job is a day without money for them. Thus, this lockdown is only burning their pockets.
The workers are asked to vacate the factory dormitories and rented accommodations as they could not pay the rent. They do not have enough resources to stay in cities. The living costs are obviously higher in cities when compared to rural areas and this is the main reason why migrants are in rush to return to their hometowns.
Agitated crowd at Bandra railway station in Mumbai
States have arranged for buses for these migrants to reach their natives. Schools and stadiums were allocated to shelter those high and dry. Control rooms were also set up to address their problems.
But the migrant population is stratospheric that the government's efforts and funding is inadequate. The benefits do not always reach the target as most of these migrants do not even have a ration card or any other identity. So ensuring the funds reach the right person at the right time is a hard task.
The ends do not meet. The government wants migrants to stay wherever they are to prevent the spread of virus. If migrants become carriers infecting people in rural areas, insufficient healthcare facilities there would add to the problem. But the fear and panic driven migrants want to return to their places so that they don't die out of hunger and feel safer.
Let us pray for the best.
Meanwhile, guessing the post lockdown scenario....
Many migrants would be reluctant to return to workplaces. Uncertainity cannot be erased easily from their minds. The government has already drafted a plan to kickstart economy while taking precautionary measures. Even if they do come, government has a tedious job of ensuring they are not the carriers of virus.
The post lockdown period would be a hard time for the labour intensive industries as factories will be under-utilised atleast for a short period. Moreover, the construction sector is the most affected as many of the workers are casual labours. Some employers even lost track of them.
If you think you have a better solution, do share in comments below :)
Just a pro tip!
There are two words which we often get confused with. Emigration and immigration.
An example for each would be sufficient.
My nephew immigrated to Canada.
My nephew emigrated from India.
If you like reading newsbytes, do LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE :)
Let us brush up on the basics.
Migrants are those who move from one place to another(can be within country or between countries) either temporarily or permanently due to various reasons. The most dominant one being better employement opportunities. More than 20% of our population are migrants. Most of them leave their families in hometowns. They are daily wage earners. Rickshaw pullers, hawkers, street vendors, construction workers, workers in unorganised(some even in organised) sectors are few of them.
The virus had put their jobs, life and future in uncertainty.
The country is under lockdown for more than a month and we are having a great time binge watching, baking, spending time with family etc. But the other side of the country, the dark side, migrants are running out of money. A day without job is a day without money for them. Thus, this lockdown is only burning their pockets.
The workers are asked to vacate the factory dormitories and rented accommodations as they could not pay the rent. They do not have enough resources to stay in cities. The living costs are obviously higher in cities when compared to rural areas and this is the main reason why migrants are in rush to return to their hometowns.
Agitated crowd at Bandra railway station in Mumbai
States have arranged for buses for these migrants to reach their natives. Schools and stadiums were allocated to shelter those high and dry. Control rooms were also set up to address their problems.
But the migrant population is stratospheric that the government's efforts and funding is inadequate. The benefits do not always reach the target as most of these migrants do not even have a ration card or any other identity. So ensuring the funds reach the right person at the right time is a hard task.
The ends do not meet. The government wants migrants to stay wherever they are to prevent the spread of virus. If migrants become carriers infecting people in rural areas, insufficient healthcare facilities there would add to the problem. But the fear and panic driven migrants want to return to their places so that they don't die out of hunger and feel safer.
Let us pray for the best.
Meanwhile, guessing the post lockdown scenario....
Many migrants would be reluctant to return to workplaces. Uncertainity cannot be erased easily from their minds. The government has already drafted a plan to kickstart economy while taking precautionary measures. Even if they do come, government has a tedious job of ensuring they are not the carriers of virus.
The post lockdown period would be a hard time for the labour intensive industries as factories will be under-utilised atleast for a short period. Moreover, the construction sector is the most affected as many of the workers are casual labours. Some employers even lost track of them.
If you think you have a better solution, do share in comments below :)
Just a pro tip!
There are two words which we often get confused with. Emigration and immigration.
An example for each would be sufficient.
My nephew immigrated to Canada.
My nephew emigrated from India.
If you like reading newsbytes, do LIKE, SHARE and SUBSCRIBE :)
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