-The Indian Express As we grapple with a health, economic and humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, the immediate need is to provide emergency relief to cushion the effects of the dual shocks of the virus and lockdown on informal workers. COVID-19 is causing havoc across the world, destroying both lives and livelihoods. Developing countries such as India are particularly vulnerable as their vast informal workforce, which has no labour, social or health...
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Chaos continues to mark exodus of labourers from Gujarat -Mahesh Langa
-The Hindu Several incidents of migrants walking on roads despite special trains facility Ahmedabad: Chaos resulting from lack of preparations continues to mark the exodus of the migrant labourers from the hubs in Gujarat. On Sunday also, several incidents of migrants walking on roads were reported despite special trains were being arranged to their native places. On Saturday, several incidents of clashes between the migrants and the police were reported from inter-State checkposts...
More »Cash-strapped migrants forced to pay for passage back home -Ajeet Mahale
-The Hindu Workers clueless on how to obtain and pay for mandatory medical certificate; Railways allowing only 54 passengers per coach Mumbai: “Yahan pe ghut ghut ke ji nahi sakte (It’s becoming unbearable to live here like this),” said Mohammad Hanif, a construction worker from Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh. Along with 100 others from the same district living in Saki Naka, Mr. Hanif wants to leave as soon as possible. The announcement of...
More »As Poverty Spikes Due to Lockdown, A Separate Package for Urban Distress is Urgently Needed -Siraj Hussain and Jugal Mohapatra
-TheWire.in Income-earning opportunities for a vast majority of India's urban poor, over the next few months, look bleak. What can be done for them? Over the last two months, India has watched in horror as lakhs of migrant workers and their families – some on cycles, many more on foot – walked back hundreds of kilometres from their place of work to their towns and villages. A recent rapid sample survey by the...
More »Why is India spending money showering petals on hospitals but making workers pay for train tickets? -Shoaib Daniyal
-Scroll.in Gestures should not come at the cost of real action. When Narendra Modi announced India’s harsh lockdown starting from March 25 to combat the spread the coronavirus, migrant workers were the worst affected group. Stranded in cities without wages or access to food, hundreds of thousands of people started walking, cycling and smuggling themselves in container trucks and cement mixers to try to get home – a journey that was sometimes...
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