Social Justice: As many as 39 civil society organisations from Mumbai have written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray requesting that the well-being of migrant workers be kept in mind while imposing restrictions to contain the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the state.
In the letter, the civil society bodies say that a state-wide lockdown would once again result in loss of livelihood, income, and access to basic amenities among the underprivileged sections of society, who are yet to recover from the impact of the national lockdown announced last year.
The 21-day nationwide lockdown that began on March 24th, 2020 put millions of Indians out of work. With few transport options available, several migrant workers resorted to commuting on foot to reach home. Many died during these arduous journeys.
In order to prevent a similar crisis again, the organisations have suggested several measures including offering adequate notice periods to migrant workers before announcing lockdowns, a proper system to ensure safe travel to their home towns and villages, shelters for those without housing, cash transfers, and medical centres in urban slums and other populated areas.
They also added that food grains and rations must be made available to all, whether or not people have documents. “Oil, fuel, cereals, other grains, and vegetables need to be included. Area-wise food centres should be set up to provide cooked meals to the poor.”
With parts of Maharashtra once again witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, Thackeray, on April 4th, 2021, announced a weekend lockdown in the state. In addition to the weekend lockdown, night curfew under Section 144 will also be in force during the day through the week.
Amid fears of suffering from another lockdown, several migrant workers have left cities over the past few days while many others are mulling returning home.
Read this article on how to support informal workers during the COVID-19 crisis
