Amid chatter of lockdown extension, migrant labourers' woes increase

Amid talk about extension of the 21-day COVID-19 lockdown, concerns are rising over the condition of migrant labourers lodged in relief camps and stranded in cities and those who have managed to reach their villages in different states and how they will cope up in such a scenario.

Food remains one of the foremost concerns for migrant labourers, as those in their native places are unable to access ration shops due to the police's stringent enforcement of the lockdown, while those who are confined to cities lament that they do not have ration card and this is holding them back from getting food supply. Reaching food distribution centres is also a problem for many.

Also, experts on migration raised concerns about their livelihood in the future as the lockdown is likely to continue even if relaxations are provided. If the lockdown continues, there is a fear that the whole bunch of migrant workers – those stranded in cities as well as those who have returned to villages – will face job losses as well as income loss.

For the immediate present, experts also believe the number of relief camps is not up to the mark and NGOs, who are now in the scene, are likely to exhaust their resources soon as governments have stepped in late.

"Among states, Kerala is doing a fine job. But several states, especially Delhi, have failed to protect the migrant labourers," Ginu Zacharia Oommen, Kerala Public Service Commission member and an expert on international migration, told DH.

Governments in several states stepping in late and not augmenting their resources while leaving a large number of migrant workers to be handled by NGOs was a concern Prof Manish Jha of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) shared.

"The capacity of NGOs is very limited, and it will be difficult for them to sustain this for a longer period is difficult. Usually, governments step in soon but here this did not happen. The number of relief camps or food distribution centres are not adequate," told DH.

Three-fourth of the over 26,467 relief camps, including 22,567 by various state governments, set up for migrant labourers are in Kerala and Maharashtra with activists and experts finding fault with the poor spread of such facilities in other states. Of the roughly 10.37 lakh staying in these camps, according to statistics placed before Supreme Court by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday, 6.31 lakh are in government facilities.

However, when it comes to food distribution centres, there are 17,324 such facilities but here the majority is operated by NGOs (9,473). Around 84.26 lakh people are benefited out of which 54.15 lakh get food from government facilities. Another 15.05 lakh people are being provided accommodation and food by their employers across the country.

Among the states, Kerala has the highest number of 15,541 camps where 3.02 lakh migrant workers are staying while Maharashtra has 4,536 camps with 4,47 lakh people of which government camps are just 1,135 where 73,492 are lodged.

The National capital, which witnessed an exodus in the last weekend of March, has 102 camps where 4,788 are staying while Uttar Pradesh, one of the destinations of those who left the capital, have 2,230 camps, all set up by the state government, where a little over one lakh people stay.

Bihar, where its Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that people should not return to the state for the time being, has 148 camps where 14,354 are staying. In Karnataka, there are 217 camps – 208 run by the government where 16,138 out of 16,392 in such facilities stays.

The figures on relief camps and migrant workers also brought in question the recent allocation of over Rs 17,000 crore to states.

CPI(M) General Secretary tweeted: "Centre's own report to Supreme Court says that out of 22,567 active govt relief camps and shelters all over India, 15,541 are run by Kerala government. That is 68.8% of all camps! Similarly, of the 631,119 persons houses in relief camps/shelters, 302,016 (or 47.9%) are in Kerala (1/2). Centre allocates Rs 157 crore to Kerala in SDRF out of country's allocation of Rs 11,092 crore. Only 1.4%! Does Modi government have any answers?"

Both Oommen and Jha highlighted the problems faced by migrant labourers when it comes to accessing rations.

"The important point to note is that migrant labourers do not have ration cards at their work stations. This was one of the reasons for the recent exodus. If they do not have ration cards, how will those labourers stranded in cities access rice and daal the government announced to distribute for free? We should also keep in mind that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar could not accept migrant labourers during the initial stages. Several states were not sympathetic towards migrant labourers," Oommen said.

Jha also highlighted the issue of access to ration and referred to the situation in Uttar Pradesh. "In UP, some people have received Rs 1,000. They have some money, but they cannot reach ration shops. In most cases, the money has not reached. People are also scared to venture out due to fear of the police. The government probably has not proactively applied its mind in ensuring food for migrant workers," he said.

Continuing to depend on NGOs, which are doing "really good work", may not be feasible, especially in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where the civil society network is very weak, Jha said.