-The Hindu The 21-day lockdown has suddenly left several thousand workers in the informal sector without jobs and any means of sustenance. It is around 3 p.m. Carrying luggage on their backs and wearing black masks, seven men, visibly fatigued, are signalled to stop by a policeman who hurriedly jumps out of his vehicle at Rajiv Chowk on the Delhi-Gurugram highway. The officer makes a few inquiries before letting them off, asking...
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Covid-19: What can be done immediately to help vulnerable population -Reetika Khera
-IdeasforIndia.in With over 80% of India’s workforce employed in the informal sector and one-third working as casual labour, Covid-19's spread and subsequent unplanned lockdowns, have created economic havoc in the lives of millions. In this post, Reetika Khera puts forward suggestions on what can be done to help people immediately, ranging from cash and in-kind assistance to special measures for migrants in urban areas and urgent health-related measures. The spread of the...
More »Civil society group asks for social safety measures for migrant and informal workers from Jharkhand against the backdrop of coronavirus lockdown
-Press release by Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha dated by 25th March, 2020 Jharkhand, like most of India, has woken up late to the COVID-19 pandemic and is yet to provide adequate social security to the people. Although no COVID-19 case has been officially reported in Jharkhand so far, this may be a myth since the state has only one testing centre where only a few dozen samples have been tested, according to...
More »COVID-19: Gujarat labourers, tribals forced to take 250 km-long journeys on foot -Rajeev Khanna
-Down to Earth The workers reportedly began their journey on March 23, 2020, with some accompanied by their wives, children Thousands of migrant workers in Gujarat are undertaking long journeys to their native villages on foot. The workers, mostly tribals, travelled upwards of 250 kilometres, in the absence of public transport. migrant workers are forced to take this step after the Union government initiated a janata (people’s) curfew and subsequently, a 21-day...
More »migrant workers’ rush chokes transit points in the East: Where do we go, what do we do now? -Abhishek Angad, Santosh Singh & Ravik Bhattacharya
-The Indian Express An official in Ranchi said about 3,000-4,000 people reached the city on an average every day over the past week on the Alappuzha-Dhanbad Express. Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi: From Jharkhand to Bihar and West Bengal, governments scrambled Monday to cope with the return of thousands of migrant workers from cities and states as far away as Kerala amid an unprecedented 10-day shutdown of rail and inter-state bus services to contain...
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