COVID-19: PIL seeks SC’s intervention to alleviate plight of migrant workers

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 27

As thousands of migrant workers walk back home from various cities across India after the 21-day nationwide lockdown declared in view of COVID-19 outbreak, a PIL on Friday sought the Supreme Court’s intervention to alleviate their plight.

Filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, the PIL urged the top court to intervene the ground that despite sincere efforts on the part of the Central and state governments, a large number of stranded migrant workers were headed to their native villages on foot hundreds of kilometres away as they were unable to avail the benefits of government schemes.

The PIL urged the top court to direct district magistrates and police station in-charges across India to urgently identify such migrant workers in their areas and immediately shift them to the nearest government facility with proper food, water, medicines till the lockdown was in force.

“The biggest sufferers of this crisis situation are the poor, unregistered migrant workers, working in various big cities of India as cycle-rickshaw pullers, rag pickers, construction workers, factory workers, house maids, servants, unskilled and semi-skilled workers, etc,” Srivastava submitted.

Most of them were left with no option but to walk back to respective native places as far as 300 km to 500 km after being allegedly denied their dues by contractors.

After the lockdown came into effect from midnight of March 24-25, these workers along with their family members were forced to walk back to their villages in the absence of any other mode of transport.

Describing their condition as “inhuman”, the petitioner sought to highlight that villages of these workers may not accept them even if they manage to reach there as they would be suspected to be ‘virus’ carriers.