New Delhi:The coronavirus-induced lockdown has left millions of migrant workers stranded and helpless with no food to survive and no minimum wages paid to them. The migrant workers, who silently contribute around 10 % to the national GDP, are left jobless.
ETV Bharat spoke to many such migrant workers for whom survival has become a major challenge.
Saddam Hussain, a migrant construction worker from Jharkhand stranded in Pune said, "We have not even received the payment for our previous construction work, we labourers cannot even go back home as we are jobless and have no money to survive. Rations are too expensive, so it is very difficult to get even the basic items. Some good Samaritans have provided meals to us but that is very rare and insufficient".
"Although, we stayed back as the construction work resumed we hardly get paid as the contractor or builder often cut our wages, which does not suffice our living. We appeal to the Jharkhand government to arrange some rations for us so that we can at least use save some money to survive. We are 18 labourers from Jharkhand who are stranded here", he narrates with utmost sorrow.
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Another migrant brick kiln worker Kavita Tandon hailing from Chhattisgarh said, "I was stuck in Jammu and Kashmir for 7 years and was working at a brick kiln but I was not paid a single penny. Later I was repatriated to Bandala, Punjab. Even in Bandala, I haven’t been paid wages for two months now. Somehow, I, along with 200 such workers, reached Chhattisgarh by train. Even on the train, we were not provided basic meals. We kindly appeal for help as there are many children, pregnant women who are in distress".
"We use to work in schools but due to closure of schools, we are left jobless, there are 400 such workers who are living in Bhat camp Badarpur. We are left with no work, no food. The only option available now is begging. “Hum Sadak pe aa Gaye hai”, adds another labourer Vicky Bhat.
Taking note of the plight of migrant workers across the country, Working People's Charter (WPC) has issued a petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, endorsed by over 4,000 signatories including eminent scholars, civil servants, labour activists etc, urging the Centre to facilitate the safe and dignified movement of millions of migrants attempting to reach home, by deploying central forces, facilities and resources. '
"Shramik trains have started but these are inadequate to meet the needs of a large number of workers. Hence, in this regard, we urge the government to deploy India's central armed forces to work in close coordination with state governments as accorded in Section 35 (1) of the National Disaster Management Act 2005", said Chandan Kumar, National Coordinator of WPC.
"Provide at least a minimum wage of Rs 7,000 as financial assistance to the workers, which is not even 3% of the GDP. To revive the economy and restore capable citizens and bring the situation under control, such measure is a must", he adds.
Several heart-wrenching videos narrating the plight of migrant have been doing the round on social media. One such video is that of a baby who is seen playfully tugging at a sheet partially covering its dead mother at the Muzaffarpur railway station in Bihar.
It's not the tale of a handful of migrant workers but millions of them. They are still on the roads, walking hundreds of kilometres with children and their meagre belongings while some are stranded and waiting to go home.
