India on foot: plight of migrant labourers

Welcome to India:-

• India a home of 1.3 billion people of whom nearly half of population under 25 years age. India's economy is one of the fastest growing economies(offcourse we gave a tough fight to China this time) with nearly 2.9 trillion of size. The youth is nations most valuable resource which provides it a unique demographic advantage.

Of the total working population of India nearly 450 million which comprises about 92% of the working class are employed in unorganized sectors across India.
These poor people are worstly effected by the virus outbreak and which was joined by a nation wise lockdown.

Now these laborers have been hit hard not just financially and psychologically but even by bad GOVERNANCE and poor administration.

• Why is this migration? 

On an estimated nearly 100-125 million labourers mostly from underdeveloped ruler areas of UP, bihar and west Bengal migrate towards the urban Markets, industries and firms in search of work.
Migration has been essential for these indigent, underprivileged and unskilled labourers. They were compelled by the situation as many of them has been agrarian workers suffering due to low rainfall led to farming failure, hit by flood. They basically come from areas with high population densities.

They have been providing key contribution in the construction of roads and buildings, industrial works, manufacturing sector and most of them are recruited through unfair channels getting underpaid and overworked as well.
Many of them are involved in daily wages work, rikshaw pulling, auto rikshaw and taxi driver.
There living have been completely exacerbated after the virus outbreak accompanied by the lockdown, which eventually led to the complete hault over the economic activities. Factories, industries, construction sites, shops, malls and nearly all pertinent field employing these labourers has been closed.

This closure of economic activities led to hault in there wages, which were already low and insufficient, and moreover the migrant labourers were hundreds and thousands of kilometers away from there home.
Living in slums, small packed rooms, sleeping on footpath was thought common for these poor people but possibility of survival is as long as your pocket is weighted.
India thereby witnessed the migration of labourers amid pandemic. People coming back towards there homeland, due to the hault on there wages.

Another peculiar thing is there exists a law Inter-state migrant workers act 1979 for the betterment of labourers working in another state but most if these workers are unaware if this law.


• Governance(Am I a joke) 

Amid the return of the workers the governments (state as well as central) have been seen evading the bucks.

The state governments where these workers were employed have the moral as well as administrative duty to stop them and feed them so that they could not end up as corona carriers. Because the return of these workers could bring corona cases in the villages and areas which were saved till now due to the lockdown.

The centre have announced free distribution of ration. But several repots says that either the quantity is insufficient or the Identify blockade due to lack of ration cards among poors. This is offcourse an irony that it was found that several Indian celebs, ministers and well to do people were found having ration cards but the 3rd wheel if federalism has failed to provide poors and needy with these ration cards.

The hungry workers however were determined to trudge thousands of kilometers towards there villages. Despite of several attempts by the state governments to stop them these workers kept rushing in horrific ways. Some walked thousands of km from Maharashtra to bihar with there families comprising children. Several others returned via bicycle from South in Andra pradesh to north in Uttar pradesh.

"We have no food, no money, no income my children were hungry for days" Cried a women Prachi to news reporter.

"Please send us money we are left empty, even the contractor refused to pay, what should I do? We will die starving of hunger" were the last words of krishawati sing's husband she recalls.

Several met their fate in the journey. A UP man died of heart attack as he travelled bare foot for 800 kms.
A train accident in Maharashtra shook the country when hungry labour lying on the Railtrack were crushed by train on 8th may.

The centres inability of communicating the public and states and this failure was aggravated by several states either due to incompetence or lack of capacity.

The PM talked via video conferencing with CM of states but the states were alleging the central government of interfere in their realm. After more then a month the central government permitted the return of workers but till then several lives were lost.
Not just that, when the workers refused to stop there journey, several states like Maharashtra, uttar pradesh and in Delhi Police forces were used inform of LATHI charge against them. The agony have been never seemed to be lowered for the poor labourers amid COVID19.

The central government under the 'Vande Bharat' mission airlifted nearly 15000 Indian Nationals from different countries after nearly 2 months.

Several states(non BJP ruled) have alleged the central government of enforcing there will over requisite majors.

A very pertinent question arises here is, was the centeral government unaware of the migrant workers millions in number working on daily wages in different states?
Has the central government given priorities to the suggestion from the states, was there a sense of mutual trust between states and centre.?
Was the central government incapable of providing appropriate support to the states so that these workers be taken under trust and ask them to stay at there respective position.

Even the supreme Court asserted "it's not possible to stop the migrating workers from returning  to there home, it's the government that should assure these poor workers regarding there fooding and lodging".

• Challenges next:-

Another major imminent challenge Indian economy and several sectors gonna face is the labor crisis.
Admonition given by several economists, industrialists and businessmen about post lockdown period, when the factories, industries, construction works will be reinitiated and labourer workers will be needed in construction and manufacturing sectors the workers migration will be hitting adversely to these sectors.

After watching the situation of the labourers, states like UP and bihar have started making a database of the labourers according to there skills. These state governments have determined of providing jobs which might discourage the workers to move in other states for job.

The Karnataka government working intelligently have decided, no more trains will be allowed to take workers back home. the government have requested the centre to cancel all the trains heading to send these labourers back. "We want the migrant labourers to stay back. They are the backbone of state as well as national economy" Said a minister from government.

Industries in Punjab and haryana have been reopened and labor forse is prerequisite for there restart.

The state government should make sure to the workers, if they are coming to work in these States the government will take the responsibility of these workers primarily.

But now will these labourers return with same confidence to the respective states where they faced enormous problem and were behaved as a step? 

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