Going by the government’s response to questions in Parliament, there was no migrant crisis triggered by a nationwide lockdown declared at f...
Going by the government’s response to questions in Parliament, there was no migrant crisis triggered by a nationwide lockdown declared at four hours’ notice by the prime minister on March 23.
In reply to a question on why the lockdown to contain the coronavirus had been declared at such short notice, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai replied it was to “stop the untraceable movement of people from one place to another within the country”. Rai added that the government ensured all basic amenities – food, water, medical care – would be provided. Misinformation that such amenities would run out might have sent some migrant workers scattering home in a panic, he surmised.
Yet, a large number of migrant journeys have slipped through the cracks of government records. According to Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar’s replies on September 14, about 10 million migrants went home during the lockdown and the Centre could not account for about four million. Gangwar could only say that 63.07 lakh people had been transported home on Shramik trains where food and water were provided free of cost. On the number of non-Covid deaths during lockdown, on the compensation promised for the families of lockdown victims, on jobs lost during lockdown, the government had...
