Torn between penury and pandemic, trouble mounts for migrant workers from Bihar

Migrant labourers, originally from different districts in Jharkhand and hilly areas of south-west Bihar, and working in UP and other northern and western states, are using this route to return.

From Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu and Gujarat to closer home on the borders of Uttar Pradesh, migrant workers from Bihar continue to remain anxious, torn between a disease that dictates they stay where they are and economic and emotional compulsions, which are pushing them to return home.

The huge population of migrant labourers from Bihar, who have got stranded across the country due to lockdown in view of Coronavirus pandemic, are making desperate calls for support.(HT photos)

This, in turn, has sparked contrasting political responses — with the Bihar government seeking to help people at the border of the state, as other, including opposition party leaders, make personal interventions and appeal for more active government help. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for his part, is concerned about the possibility of workers bringing the virus back to their villages, due to the decision of state governments to arrange their transport.

 

Ram Kumar Mandal is a labourer in Mumbai from Bihar. He has lost his livelihood, and is worried about his family back home. He is with a group of 23 other migrant workers from the state, struggling with what to do next.

“We have no food and no money. We are sitting idle. We cannot get back home and we don’t know how long we can survive like this without any work and money,” said Mandal, adding the labour contractor who had brought them to Mumbai had also switched off his phone.

The huge population of migrant labourers from Bihar, who have got stranded across the country due to lockdown in view of Coronavirus pandemic, are making desperate calls for support. Many have begun searching for ways to return home, using whatever they can, be it cycle, a cart or rickshaw, or just walking.

Many students studying in Delhi University or other institutions in the national capital from Bihar are also struggling.

“Many of the students live in Delhi by giving private tuition to pursue their studies. They live in rented accommodations and now face a dual problem – their academic work is affected and they are struggling to meet their monthly expenses,” said Rajesh Jha, executive committee member of DU.

At the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border, in a key crossing, the Bihar government has opened shelter homes with free food and lodging facilities. It is also arranging free transport to their respective home districts after their health check-up.

Following the inflow of migrant labourers on the National Highway- 2 (GT Road) from UP, the administration in the bordering Bihar district of Kaimur opened a special check post at a toll point near the border. A magistrate, police force and a doctor with paramedical staff were deputed round the clock for screening the visitors.

Migrant labourers, originally from different districts in Jharkhand and hilly areas of south-west Bihar, and working in UP and other northern and western states, are using this route to return. It is also used by health patients from Bihar’s Rohtas and Aurangabad districts to travel to specialised medical facilities at Varanasi, Lucknow and Delhi.

Two shelter homes have been opened in Mohania and Bhabua. After the health check up at the border and provision of food and rest at the shelter points, the administration is arranging vehicles to send workers to their respective districts free of cost, district magistrate, Kaimur, Nawal Kishor Chaudhary said.

The Bihar disaster management department (DMD) has also set up relief camps and community kitchen, as it did during floods, at schools and colleges in Gardanibagh of Patna, and in some other districts, to provide meals free of cost to the poor, including labourers, affected by the lockdown, said principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar, in the meantime, has expressed his reservations on the UP government’s decision to run special buses to ferry migrants from Ghaziabad-Noida. “This may provide relief to migrants but on the flip side if anybody among them is a carrier, it will spell further trouble,” said Kumar.