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AHMEDABAD: Hundreds of migrant workers in western India’s Gujarat state have clashed with authorities for the second day, throwing rocks at police trying to impose a lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Protesters took to the streets of the city of Surat on Saturday (May 9), a day after Ahmedabad residents clashed with paramilitary forces.
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More than 500 workers employed in industries in the Hazira belt, on the outskirts of Surat, gathered to demand that the authorities make arrangements for them to return to their home states.
The protesters, most of them migrant workers from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, told police that they are struggling to survive without work or money.
“We told them that the government had sent a large number of workers to their home states, and that similar arrangements would be made for them as well,” Inspector H.R. told Reuters. Brahmbhatt, based at the Ichhapore Police Station.
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“We asked them to be patient and to return to their homes because of the closure, but they refused and started throwing stones at us.”
Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, Brahmbhatt said.
D N Patel, the joint commissioner of the Surat police, said around 50 workers were arrested and charged with illegal assembly and riots.
“We are in the process of identifying more people involved in the violence,” he said.
The violence occurs when the number of reported coronavirus cases in India increased to 59,662, with 1,981 deaths.
Gujarat has seen several incidents of violent protests by residents and migrant workers since the national blockade began on March 25. It has been extended twice and will now run until May 17, the government said last week.
Home to nearly a million migrant workers, Surat is a hub for the textile and diamond industry.
Earlier in the week, 1,000 migrant workers participated in a protest in the village of Vareli, on the outskirts of Surat.
Patel said a large number of police reinforcements have been dispatched to the area and that the situation was under control.
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