oppn parties Take Good Care Of Migrant Workers In These Troubled Times

News Snippets

  • Calcutta HC says Cricket Association of Bengal is not liable to pay tax on advertisement inisde Eden Gardens cricket ground as it is not a 'public place' because it does not have unrestricted access for the general public
  • Supreme Court admits a plea from a child of a single OBC mother who had applied for an OBC certificate for her son
  • Supreme Court approves applying strict preventive detention laws for 'cybercriminals'
  • SBI likely to shift part of operations of its Global Market Unit from Kolkata to Mumbai
  • FM nirmala Sitharaman calls for a "structured, process-driven approach to compliance" and asks top I-T officials to speed up refunds and simplify processes
  • Marine insurance costs surge as the oil corridor in Strait of Homruz becomes risky due to war
  • Stocks weaken on Monday on global cues: sensex sheds 511 points to 81896 and Nifty 140 points to 24971
  • Former left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi dies in London at 77. He played for India in 33 Test matches and for Bengal in domestic tournaments
  • Pant becomes the only keeper to score two centuries in the same Test in England
  • England Test: Rishabh Pant hits his second ton and KL Rahul a classy century to put India on top, England need 350 runs on the last day, with the ptich showing signs of wear and tear
  • DGCA orders an audit of the entire aviation ecosystem in the wake of recent snags in many flights after the AI Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad
  • 2 Pahalgam residents arrested by NIA for sheltering and aiding 3 terrorists who killed civilian tourists in pahalgam tell the agency that there were 3 LeT ultras from Pakistan that carried out the attack
  • India unlikely to agree to US demands for lower tariffs on agri products and GM food, trade deal faces fresh hurdles
  • Stocks likely to plummet today as traders will be worried about the effect of US strike on iran, oil price rise and possible inflation. Foreign funds may also withdraw in the volatile global situation
  • Oil prices likely to shoot up as US strikes at iran and the latter decides to close the Strait of Homruz
US President Donald Trump unilaterally announces a 'ceasefire' between Israel & Iran
oppn parties
Take Good Care Of Migrant Workers In These Troubled Times

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-04-21 07:54:51

As the second wave of Covid infections engulfs India and many states impose complete lockdown or night curfews, weekend lockdown and other stringent restrictions, economic activity is bound to suffer. There will be loss of livelihood for many once again. The major problem will again be the exodus of migrant workers. Since last time too the government had first imposed a limited lockdown and had then kept on extending it, it will be difficult to convince these workers that they should remain where they are since they will get work again in a week or 15 days. These workers fear the worse, especially since nearly three times more people are getting infected daily this time. Since they are dependent on daily or weekly wages and with the experience of last year fresh in their memory, they feel that being cooped up without wages, without much support from the government and not knowing where they will get food from, it is better to return home.

But they need to be educated that the virus is mutating and the triple mutation variant causing much damage in India. It is best for them and their families that they remain where they are. For, if they go home and carry the mutated variant with them, or if any of their fellow workers do so, they will spread the disease in the villages. The villages do not have the necessary health infrastructure and will collapse if Covid cases start multiplying exponentially, sparking off another human tragedy. But they will now not listen to appeals from the government. The government will have to do all it takes to prevent the situation that was created last year. A similar human tragedy must be avoided at all costs. Several sectors are entirely dependent on migrant workers and their well-being is of prime importance to keep the wheels rolling. Hence, industry and the government must come together to take care of the migrant workers in these difficult times. 

pic courtesy: nyt