Covid-19: Rahul Gandhi appeals for food and shelter for migrant workers heading home

The 21-day lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus has forced jobless workers and daily wage earners to walk home in different states in the absence of any transport.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday appealed to the public and his party workers and leaders to provide food and shelter to the jobless workers and daily wage earners, many of whom are walking home to their villages hundreds of kilometres away

Migrant labourers going back to their respective village, at Mahrajpur on the Delhi Ghaziabad border on Saturday during the fourth day of 21- day nationwide lockdown as a preventive measures against coronavirus. (Raj K raj)

“Today, hundreds of our hungry brothers and sisters along with their families have to walk towards their villages. In such grim times whoever can, please help them with food and shelter. I particularly appeal to Congress leaders and workers. Jai Hind,” he tweeted in Hindi.

The 21-day national lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus has sparked migrations from major metros as workers and daily wage earners headed home in different states, mostly on foot in the absence of any transport.

In Delhi on Friday, good Samaritans offered food and water to hundreds of migrants, as they walked to their hometowns in UP, Uttarakhand and even Bihar in the wake of a countrywide lockdown which has paralysed transportation across much of the country.

Officials of UPSRTC’s Ghaziabad region said that till March 27 midnight, they had sent about 96 buses and were arranging more to help the migrants workers reach their destinations.

The buses took stranded workers to places like Lucknow, Etawah, Bareilly, Etah, Aligarh and Gorakhpur.