17:38 April 14
Migrant workers come out in protest in Bandra, police resort to lathi charge
Mumbai: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced extension of the coronavirus-enforced lockdown till May 3, a large number of migrant workers who earn daily wages came out on road here on Tuesday demanding transport arrangements to go back to their native places.
According to a police official, daily wage earners, numbering around 1,000, assembled at suburban Bandra (West) bus depot near the railway station and squatted on road at around 3 pm.
Read:COVID-19: Lockdown extended till May 3, strict guidelines to be issued in hotspots
As per sources, the workers were dispersed by the police amidst appeals by local leaders to not create a health crisis. Police eventually resorted to lathi charge to disperse the protesters who were posing a grave public health crisis in a state already stricken by a resurgent wave of COVID-19 cases, especially in slum areas.
A police official said the migrants were dispersed two hours later and have been assured accommodation and food till the lockdown lasts.
The huge gathering is a cause of worry for the state administration which is already dealing with several COVID-19 hotspots and a surge in positive cases in past few weeks.
The incident comes in the backdrop of the lockdown extension, till May 3rd, as announced by the prime minister Narendra Modi to contain COVID-19.
