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

News Snippets

  • Batteries, chains and screws were among 65 objects found in the stomach of a 14-year-old Hathras boy who died after these objects were removed in a complex surgery at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital
  • India confirms that 'verification patrolling' is on at Demchok and Depsang in Ladakh after disengagement of troops
  • LeT commander and 2 other terrorists killed in Srinagar in a gunbattle with security forces. 4 security personnel injured too.
  • Man arrested in Nagpur for sending hoax emails to the PMO in order to get his book published
  • Adani Power sets a deadline of November 7 for Bangladesh to clear its dues, failing which the company will stop supplying power to the nation
  • Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) ensure India get a lead in the final Test after which Ashwin and Jadeja reduce the visitors to 171 for 9 in the second innings
  • Final Test versus New Zealand: Match evenly poised as NZ are 143 ahead with 1 wicket in hand
  • PM Modi said that a historic Diwali will be celebrated in Ayodhya after 500 years with the rebuilding of the Ram Mandir there
  • Priyanka Gandhi, campaigning as the candidate in Wayanad, alleged that the BJP had neglected the constituency
  • UP Police arrested 7 people for selling firearms on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook
  • The Election Commission once again slammed the Congress for 'frivolous doubts' on the Haryana election process
  • Government has advised pharma companies to cut prices of cancer drugs as the customes duty has been slashed
  • Bengal tweaks PMAY scheme to make it 'better' than the Central offer
  • PM Modi slams Delhi and Bengal for not rolling out Ayushman Bharat in their states. TMC rebuts the charges and says the Bengal Swasthya Sathi scheme is better than the Central scheme
  • iPhone exports from India surged 33% in the period April to September this year
PM Modi 'strongly condemns' on Hindu temple in Canada while MEA expresses concern over safety of Indians
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