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Another Mass Exodus of Migrant Workers Likely if Delhi's Lockdown Persists -Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

-TheWire.in

With a large number of units in the unorganised sector closing down and few providing residential facilities to workers, many have already started leaving.

New Delhi: As the Delhi government announced a six-day lockdown from Monday to combat the spread of COVID-19, a large number of migrant workers began leaving for their home towns and villages – bringing back memories of a similar crisis in March 2020. Workers fear that the lockdown will be prolonged and that they will lose their source of livelihood and their housing.

The only difference this time is that the roads are open, and buses and trains available. Also, past experience has made workers realise that most of them will have to return for work sooner or later.

Social workers working with migrant labourers said private bus operators have been making a killing as the demand for seats far outstripped the availability. “The bus fares have been hiked four to five times by the operators. The workers, especially those leaving with their families, hardly have those kinds of saving to make their way back home,” said Chandrajeet of Migrant Labour Support, whose organisation had last year helped thousands of stranded workers reach home by arranging buses for them.

A key difference between last year and now, he said, was that “this time people are more aware that if there is be an extended lockdown, my employer will not pay me and my landlord will ask me to leave. They had experienced all these difficulties last time.”

Most workers, he said, have also realised that they will have to return to Delhi NCR for work as there is no proper work for them back home. “So some of them have surrendered their rooms but are not carrying all their goods back. They are pooling up and using a shared rented room among 8 or 10 of them to leave their heavy belongings behind. This way they are also saving on the transportation costs.”

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