Bihar migrants rushing home pose a serious threat

PATNA: Bihar has been relatively better off so far amid the raging fear of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak and the growing threat perception over potential

PATNA: Bihar has been relatively better off so far amid the raging fear of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak and the growing threat perception over potential community transmission.

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However, the state has a huge migrant population both at home and abroad, which is a cause for worry.

At present, the focus is on creating awareness among people. Efforts are on to track the asymptomatic migrants returning home, mixing with large population in the countryside, where health care and testing facilities are, at best, basic.

Rajendra Memorial Research Institute (RMRI), the only laboratory where testing of samples of Covid-19 suspects is done, has not reported a single positive sample so far. “There is no reason to start community sampling. The government is focusing on people coming from Covid-19-affected countries and urging them to go for mandatory 14-day quarantine. Coronavirus is still in stage-2 and there is no evidence of stage-3 from anywhere in the state,” said Dr Pradeep Das, director, RMRI.

Bihar’a labour minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said, “We don’t know the exact number of migrants who have returned to the state, as reporting is not always done.”

The biggest problem is that the mobility pattern of a large section of migrant population is unknown.

Pushpendra, director at the Patna centre of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), said that as per 2011 Census data, Bihar’s migrant population was 29 million.

“The state’s migrant population was 6.4% of the country’s migrant demography. Nearly 13% of the total migration was for work, business and education, and 62% on account of matrimonial alliances. The proportion of migrant households dependent on remittances is the highest in the country in both urban and rural areas,” he said, quoting from a working paper of the institute’s assistant professor, Dr Pinak Sarkar.

In rural Bihar, the number of households reporting out-migration per 1,000 households was 745, which was nearly double of the national average of 365.

In urban areas, the corresponding figure was 614 against the national average of 240.

“The fear of community transmission cannot be ruled out. There should be a mechanism for community testing, starting off with vulnerable areas,”’ Pushpendra said.

Major destination states for migrants from Bihar

State %

Delhi 19.34

Jharkhand 14.12

W Bengal 13.65

Maharashtra 10.65

UP 10.24

Haryana 7.06

Punjab 6.89

Gujarat 4.79

Rest of India 13.25

Source: Tata Institute of Social Sciences