Reverse migration 2.0: Lockdown fears drive another exodus from Karnataka

The state government’s announcement of a night curfew from April 10 to 20 seems to have triggered the beginning of the reverse migration of hundreds of workers from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan along with poll-bound states of West Bengal and Assam. Officials, however, sought to note that it was not an exodus akin to last year’s.

Hundreds of migrant workers started thronging the KSR Bengaluru railway station on Friday morning. Few were willing to speak to reporters about their worries for fears that the government may take drastic decisions to stop them.

Janak Singh, a 43-year-old tile fixer, said he was returning to Gwalior along with his wife, children and young brother to attend a marriage. It took about 10 minutes of conversation before he spoke of his predicament.

“We are worried that a lockdown is coming and it will cut us off. I have aged parents at home and decided not to take a chance,” he said.

Uday Raghav, travelling to Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh along with eight others, said his contractor told him to return home. “He reminded us of last year when restrictions like night and weekend curfews paved the way for a full lockdown. He has offered to book tickets to help us avoid a similar situation,” he said.

Read: Night curfew from April 10, get home before 10 pm: Bengaluru top cop

Workers from West Bengal and Assam, however, said they were going back to cast their vote in the ongoing election while some others said they were on the way to celebrate festivals with family.

Vajrakumar, a visually impaired artiste from Kalabkuragi, who is part of ‘Sanmarga Trust’, a music band, said he booked the ticket last week. “The earnings through orchestra performance have already come down. The number of bookings for performances came down from six in a month to mere one after Covid cases surged. I booked a ticket last week.” N Shivanna, general secretary of the construction worker unit of the All India Trade Union Congress, said the reverse migration was not a surprise. “The problems they suffered during the previous lockdown taught them hard lessons. Some of the workers had assured of returning to work after the number of cases come down,” he said.

Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager Ashok Kumar Verma said a video clip of crowds at a Mumbai railway station, shot during the lockdown last year, was falsely being circulated as that of the present-day exodus.

“There may be movement of migrant workers but it is not an exodus. The railways is ready to provide transport services. There is no need for panic,” he appealed.

Koshy Varghese, Managing Director of Value Designbuild Pvt Ltd, said the lack of consistency in the government’s approach was a worrying factor.

“As of now, builders in Bengaluru are not facing a major shortage of workers similar to last year. However, the government needs to adopt a consistent approach to build trust. Announcing a decision today and changing it overnight will confuse people, especially migrant workers who often get news from second-hand,” he noted.