NEW DELHI: The Home Office has said the Center does not have any records of migrant workers who died while returning home during the nationwide blockade after the corona pandemic.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Nityanand Rai, on Tuesday, in a written response to a question on “protection of immigrants and workers before the lockdown” posed by Mala Roy, a member of the Lok Sabha of the Trinamool Congress.
To a specific query on “the number of migrant workers who died on the way home”, the minister responded by saying: “Details on the number of migrant workers who died while returning to their home states are not kept centrally.” , as part of starless question number 327 in Lok Sabha
Roy had asked: “Will the Home Secretary be happy to declare:
(a) the measures taken to protect migrant workers before the lockdown was announced on March 25, along with details thereof; (b) the reasons why thousands of these workers ended up walking home after the lockdown; and (c) the number of migrant workers who died on the way home? ”
The minister, in his response, also claimed that the large-scale exodus of migrant workers from their workplaces to their home states was triggered by ‘fake news’ that generated panic among them. “The migration of large numbers of migrant workers was triggered by the panic created by the fake news about the length of the lockdown, and people, especially migrant workers, were concerned about the adequate supply of basic necessities such as food, drinking water, health and shelter services “.
He said the Center was “fully aware of this and took all necessary measures to ensure that during the period of the inevitable closure, no citizen is deprived of basic services of food, drinking water, medical facilities, etc.”
The minister’s responses to part (a) and (b) indicated that, to contain the spread of Covid-19, the government took various measures, considered essential for the safety of people, including migrant workers …
It read: “On March 28, the central government allowed state governments to use the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to make provisions for temporary accommodation, food, clothing, medical care, etc., for both the homeless and the for migrant workers. To increase funding with the states, the central government released an advance of Rs 11,092 crore from the SDRF to the states on April 3, 2020. ”
This was stated by the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Nityanand Rai, on Tuesday, in a written response to a question on “protection of immigrants and workers before the lockdown” posed by Mala Roy, a member of the Lok Sabha of the Trinamool Congress.
To a specific query on “the number of migrant workers who died on the way home”, the minister responded by saying: “Details on the number of migrant workers who died while returning to their home states are not kept centrally.” , as part of starless question number 327 in Lok Sabha
Roy had asked: “Will the Home Secretary be happy to declare:
(a) the measures taken to protect migrant workers before the lockdown was announced on March 25, along with details thereof; (b) the reasons why thousands of these workers ended up walking home after the lockdown; and (c) the number of migrant workers who died on the way home? ”
The minister, in his response, also claimed that the large-scale exodus of migrant workers from their workplaces to their home states was triggered by ‘fake news’ that generated panic among them. “The migration of large numbers of migrant workers was triggered by the panic created by the fake news about the length of the lockdown, and people, especially migrant workers, were concerned about the adequate supply of basic necessities such as food, drinking water, health and shelter services “.
He said the Center was “fully aware of this and took all necessary measures to ensure that during the period of the inevitable closure, no citizen is deprived of basic services of food, drinking water, medical facilities, etc.”
The minister’s responses to part (a) and (b) indicated that, to contain the spread of Covid-19, the government took various measures, considered essential for the safety of people, including migrant workers …
It read: “On March 28, the central government allowed state governments to use the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to make provisions for temporary accommodation, food, clothing, medical care, etc., for both the homeless and the for migrant workers. To increase funding with the states, the central government released an advance of Rs 11,092 crore from the SDRF to the states on April 3, 2020. ”
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