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5,000 labourers stranded in Lucknow get ‘survival kit’
As per the survey, around 5,243 labourers from different states and districts and employed in Lucknow at the time of lockdown were stranded and facing difficulties.
More than 5,000 labourers, who were working in Lucknow when the lockdown was announced, are stranded after being disowned by people they were working for, says a survey conducted jointly by the district administration and the Lucknow Nagar Nigam.
“The survey was carried out as we had no data on number of labourers working in the state capital. Also, we were clueless on where they are putting up after being disowned by their employers,” said Mukesh Meshram, divisional commissioner.
The need of the survey was felt even more when the administration started getting frantic calls from people informing us about stranded labourers with no food and water, said Meshram, adding: “We roped in Nagar Nigam to carry out a survey and covered all eight zones and tehsils. The figure, which came to fore, was much more than what we were expecting.”
As per the survey, around 5,243 labourers from different states and districts and employed in Lucknow at the time of lockdown were stranded and facing difficulties.
“Mostly from Bengal, Bihar, Delhi and Jharkhand, maximum numbers of labourers were found in Sarojininagar tehsil. The survey also includes their address and the states or districts to which they belong,” said the commissioner.
“Once the survey was done, our priority was to ensure regular food supply to these stranded labourers. Hence we decided to prepare a survival kit and ensured its distribution among them,” he added.
The survival kit included 30kg of essential food material, including rice, flour, gram, edible oil, potatoes, onions, spices, salt, sugar etc enough to cater to the family of four.
An official said the kit had enough material to last for the entire lockdown period.
Other than this, the administration has also launched a helpline 9415005004, or 9650682159 to report stranded labourers or those in need. Officials said after lockdown, the administration would ensure the safe return of these labourers to their home towns.
