No jobs, fear of third wave may keep migrants away

More than 800,000 workers left the city in buses from the three ISBTs in the first four weeks of the lockdown, said a government report first published in HT on Saturday.

Bajrang Yadav (45), a worker at a gearbox manufacturing factory in west Delhi’s Naraina, along with a few other labourers, boarded a crowded bus from the Anand Vihar interstate bus terminus (ISBT) on April 19 to leave for his village in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh.

Migrants, who arrived from Delhi, looking to hitch a ride to their way home, at Kamta crossing in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. (File photo)

Delhi was witnessing an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases, and a lockdown was to come into effect on April 20. The government’s assurance that the curbs will be lifted soon could not keep Yadav back.

Around five weeks since, Delhi is still under a lockdown, and its impact has been that the case trajectory has reducing significantly. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal suggested on Sunday that a phased relaxation was likely to start from May 31.

In the interim, life has changed for Yadav. He lost his elder brother to Covid-19. Though his wife and 13-year-old son recovered from the viral infection, they are still on medicines. “I will not be able to return to Delhi anytime soon. I have to be with my family till they recover. I have exhausted all my savings on their treatment. I will try getting some work here for the time being,” said Yadav over the phone on Tuesday.

Ravi Kumar, who works in a cardboard factory; Brajkishore Tiwari, who works with a catering contractor; Hiralal Jha, a self-employed plumber; and Ehsaan Ali, a construction worker, are among thousands of migrant workers who left the city in the past one month.

More than 800,000 workers left the city in buses from the three ISBTs in the first four weeks of the lockdown, said a government report first published in HT on Saturday. There are many more which the government could not keep count of -- people leaving on trains, and also those leaving after the first four weeks.

Now, with the infection spreading to villages, workers are caught in a web of death and despair. Most of them have run out of savings and are unlikely to return to the Capital despite possibility of lockdown being lifted in phases.

Amid fears of an impending third wave, several said they were not likely to return to Delhi immediately.

“Last year, workers returned as markets opened. In a few weeks, many of them got jobs too. Now things are different. There is no certainty of any job for a long time as the economy has been hit before it could fully recover. In the absence of a safety net, people are scared to return,” said Rajesh Kumar, general secretary, Indian Federation of Trade Unions (Delhi).

This could translate into markets, factories, industries, the construction sector, and business enterprises in the city witnessing a labour shortage and operating below capacity for a significant duration in the days to come.

“A large number of employers are unlikely to be in a position to hire now,” said Neeraj Sehgal, owner of two factories that produce fire retardants and bulletproof doors.

Sehgal, who is also the general secretary of the Mayapuri industrial area welfare association, said: “Factories could touch a maximum of 80% production capacity when cases had significantly declined after the first wave of the pandemic. Though there is no income, factory owners have to pay rent, bills, taxes and salaries. Even if the lockdown is lifted, the production capacity of factories will not touch 50% in three months.”

The government, however, tried to reassure the migrant workers, and said adequate arrangements were in place to ensure workers did not face hardships.

Delhi’s revenue minister Kailash Gahlot said: “The government has taken a series of steps for welfare of migrant workers during the lockdown, which includes distributing 100% subsidised ration for two months and expanding the safety net of the construction workers’ welfare scheme, under which registered workers are entitled to ₹5,000 a month as a relief measure. We have also announced free ration for those without ration cards.”

Experts feared it may take a while before the workforce returns.

Debolina Kundu, professor at the National Institute of Urban Affairs, said: “It is unlikely that migrant workers will return to Delhi as soon as the lockdown is lifted. Most workers have exhausted their savings and are not in a position to pay rent or sustain themselves without employment. A revamp of the health sector with assured social security benefits and employment guarantee, in addition to cheap housing and assured food rations, are the measures needed to make most cities functional again.”