分类： bharat
-
Actors dressed as deities from the Ramayana distribute face masks to members of the public at a Covid-19 awareness campaign on the occasion of Ram Navami, in Bengaluru, on April 21.
Actors dressed as deities from the Ramayana distribute face masks to members of the public at a Covid-19 awareness campaign on the occasion of Ram Navami, in Bengaluru, on April 21. -
Hundreds of migrants, some of whom could not get a bus or train on Monday, when a week-long lockdown came into effect in Delhi, gathered at Anand Vihar to try again on Tuesday.
Migrant labourers leave Delhi on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, Pinki (26) and her husband left their home in Delhi’s Jhilmil Colony, filled with anxiety. The couple worked at a printing press near their home but were told by their employer that they won’t be paid during the lockdown and should consider leaving the city and returning when work resumes. With no savings, they borrowed money from their neighbours and left with their three children in search of a bus that could take them to Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh.
Standing with her children at Anand Vihar ISBT while her husband looked for a bus, Pinki said: “We are afraid we won’t get a bus today. My husband and I don’t have any savings left because our landlord forced us to pay the rent this month and our employers haven’t paid us anything in the last 20 days. How will we survive here if there’s a longer lockdown? The printing press produces school books and election posters but our employers didn’t pay us now because books aren’t being printed these days. Every time I see an election poster, I feel cheated. Nobody has helped us.”
“It’s been more than three hours now, I am tired but there are no buses. We can’t afford a private AC bus. Not that I want to stay in Sitapur because we won’t get a permanent job there. I wish schools reopen soon so I can print books again,” she said.
-
The country is witnessing another wave of migrant workers’ exodus from urban workplaces amidst uncertainties over fresh surge in Covid-19 cases.
Following the announcement of a six-day lockdown in Delhi, panic-stricken workers made a beeline for their passage home. The fears could not be allayed despite an appeal from Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who assured government assistance.
Even Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assurance of “Main hoon na (I’m there for you)” while announcing a six-day lockdown could not hold them back.
“The flood of workers returning home is linked to their terrible experience last year in most places during the prolonged lockdown,” alleged Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politbureau member Brinda Karat.
“What started with a week’s lockdown continued for months. With no income, no place to stay, with no guaranteed food they had no alternative,” she added.