-Press release by Stranded Workers Action Network, dated 20th May 2020   We, the undersigned organizations call upon the State Governments concerned to bring out all idle transport vehicles out from garages to the State and National highways to carry the workers to their home. We also request that more interstate trains be run, and in a coordinated fashion, to ensure that workers do not remain struck in overcrowded dormitories and camps....

-The Indian Express Rather than encouraging workers to return by securing wages and improving working conditions, the amendments introduced by the states are removing basic labour law protections. In the wake of the migrant crisis, several states have amended existing labour laws, either suspending them altogether or increasing working hours. The Prime Minister’s address on May 12 also indicated legal changes in the offing, which will doubtless include amendments to labour laws....

-TheWire.in In each of the four large South Asian nations, the response of the state to the pandemic has been shaped by long standing and underlying political faultlines. In parts one and two of this article, we have discussed the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, preparedness (in terms of health infrastructure), and the government’s public health responses to the pandemic in four South Asian countries. In this concluding part, we discuss two...

-PTI/ Newsclick.in The woman, Ranganayaki, said she merely shared a forwarded post by her friend raising questions on the incident. Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh CID police have registered a case against a 60-year-old woman for allegedly posting in social media questions pertaining to the recent Styrene gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam in which 12 people lost their lives and hundreds fell ill. The CID is also investigating the role of a man, Malladi...

-NDTV The Madras High Court has given the centre and Tamil Nadu government till May 22 to respond to several searching questions about its handling of the crisis Chennai: The "pathetic condition of migrant labourers...is nothing but a human tragedy", the Madras High Court said today in strongly-worded comments on the humanitarian crisis sparked by lakhs of migrants frantically trying to return to home states amid the coronavirus lockdown. Pulling up both the...