On migrant deaths, Nityanand Rai replied that these details “were not kept centrally” (Archive)
New Delhi:
The massive movement of migrants after the country was blocked in March to combat the coronavirus was due to “false news,” the government said in parliament today, giving a new surprise a day after saying there was no data on deaths of migrants, therefore “. is not a question of” compensation.
The Interior Ministry was responding to a written question from Trinamool Congress deputy Mala Roy about measures taken to protect migrant workers before the shutdown was announced on March 25, the reasons why thousands of workers ended up walking home and the number of migrant workers who died on their way home.
“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 like food, clean water, health and shelter services, “he replied. Home Minister of State Nityanand Rai.
“However, the central government 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.”, said the minister. Lok Sabha.
According to him, the center “allowed state governments to use the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) on March 28” to provide temporary accommodation, food, clothing, medical care, etc., both to the homeless and to migrant workers. To increase funding with the states, the Center provided an advance of 11,092 million rupees of state disaster funds to the states on April 3, Rai said.
On the deaths of migrants, he replied that those details “are not kept centrally.”
Yesterday, on the first day of the first session held in the virus crisis, the government told Parliament that it has no data on the migrants who died or were injured. He was asked if the families of those who lost their lives were compensated.
“No such data is kept. The question does not arise in view of the above,” Union Labor Minister Santosh Gangwar told Lok Sabha.
Many compared the images of tens of thousands of workers leaving various states after losing their jobs and homes in the national lockdown to the tragic scenes of the mass exodus after the 1947 Partition.
With no money or food to feed their families, the migrant workers set out on foot to their places of origin hundreds of kilometers away. Many died on the brutal journey home. The opposition accused the government of imposing a blockade without a plan for the poorest and those who lost their daily income.
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