Nearly 600,000 workers migrated on foot during lockdown, govt tells SC

The government expressed concern, saying that the migration had the potential to spread the deadly virus to the rural population "which has remained untouched so far"

The Central government told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that 500,000-600,000 migrants reached their villages on foot during the lockdown, even as all policy measures were in place to take care of their needs.
 

The government expressed concerns over the large movement of migrant workers in the past few days, from cities to villages, had the potential to spread the deadly virus to the rural population “which has remained untouched so far.”

The submission was made by Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla to the Supreme Court in response to a status report sought by the apex court on the measures taken to prevent the exodus of migrant workers.

“Unfortunately, due to some fake and or misleading news or social media messages, a panic was created. There are approximately 44 million who have migrated for purpose of work of employment, according to Census 2011. The present barefoot migration, which has taken place, consists of – on a very rough estimate – 500,000-600,000 persons across the country,” Bhalla told the apex court.
 

He said that the Central government had announced a Rs 1.7 trillion financial package for “every poor person”, including migrant workers, to deal with the impact of the coronavirus and “there was no necessity for migration of workers to rush to their village who started shifting from place of their occupation to the place of their residence.” “Their daily needs were being taken care of wherever they were working and the daily needs of their family members was being taken care of at their respective villages,” the central government said.

Ever since a 21-day nationwide lockdown was imposed from March 25, workers in the unorganised sector had started leaving for their villages, leading to a reverse migration, as they were unable to cope up with the economic impact of the shutdown. All businesses were closed and the workers were unable to pay for their basic needs related to house rent and food, leading to exodus. Workers started their journeys on foot to reach their villages, even leading to instances of deaths in some cases.

The Central government had advised the State governments to open relief shelters and provide food and other essential items to these migrant workers, to dissuade them from leaving the cities. It informed the apex court that till Tuesday, 21,064 relief camps have been set up by the States, in which around 666,291 persons have been provided shelter and 23 million persons have been provided food.

“It is most important and crucial to point out that this kind of migration by the migrant workers on their own in large numbers defeats the very objective of the preventive measures taken by the Central government,” Bhalla said.

The Home Secretary further submitted that the government has received reports of resistance of many villages in permitting such workers to enter their area due to the apprehension that it might lead to the spread of the coronavirus.

“So far, the rural India has remained safe from this infection. If migrant workers are permitted to conclude their journey, reach their home village and merge with rural population, there is a serious and imminent potential of the infection penetrating in rural India also. In such an eventuality, the epidemic, which has already taken the form of a pandemic, would manifest itself in its still severe form making it unmanageable to contain,” the secretary said.

It added that some of the state governments, such as Uttar Pradesh, had provided bus services to disperse the crowds of migrant workers at the borders but eventually a decision was taken to stop all such movements. Subsequently, the Home Ministry ordered the States to ensure that the landlords do not ask for monthly rent from workers and employers do not deduct the wages. This, the central government has said, is mandatory to enforce by the district magistrates, senior superintended of police and the deputy commissioner of police of each district in India.