Jaipur: Ever since the COVID-19 lockdown began, thousands of migrant workers from various industrial units in Jaipur have been abandoned by their employers. With the levels of uncertainty over daily meals rising, many of them have now decided to leave for their villages, mirroring similar decisions taken by migrant labourers across the country.
On Saturday, the Rajasthan government arranged for buses for the migrant workers and their families to transport them only till the state border. Rajasthan police was tasked to ensure that the workers are informed about the bus service available from respective bus stops for different routes.
Civil society members who were present on ground said that the ambiguous instructions given by authorities resulted in the migrant workers having to walk several extra kilometres to board the buses.
“The migrant workers were told that the buses would start from Durgapura. When they reached there, they were told that the buses were waiting for them at Jagatpura, which is about 15 kilometres away from Durgapura. Some were told that the buses would start from Transport Nagar. There was complete chaos about the location of the buses,” Kavita Srivastava, People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) Rajasthan president told The Wire.
Also read: 17 Migrant Workers, Kin Have Died Trying to Return Home Since the Lockdown Started
Even the buses that were put to service were not sufficient in number to cater to all the migrant workers gathered at the stops.
“After the announcement that buses would be made available, thousands of workers came out to the bus stops but there were only a handful of buses at service,” she added.
The volunteers claim that some Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation buses were even charging money from migrant workers. “The buses were charging Rs 200 from workers travelling to Bharatpur,” said a volunteer.
As per local reports, nearly 181 roadways buses carried a total of 9,021 migrant workers out of Rajasthan.
However, till late, thousands of workers kept on waiting for buses which didn’t arrive.
“More than 15,000 workers from Sitapura Industrial Area in Jaipur were asked by their landlords to move out. They had no money, so they thought it is best to move out of Jaipur,” said Srivastava. “The police had announced at 11 in the morning that buses will be available from Durgapura but they kept on waiting for buses until 2 am at night. It’s clear the poor will have to die for the rich to survive. A public health disease is converted into a human tragedy,” she added.
PUCL has issued a statement stating that the state government hasn’t scaled up the distribution of cooked food despite widespread hunger.
“Even if we include the food packets being distributed by various organisations, in addition to the government’s service, not more than 50,000 families are being served food in Jaipur. This number is quite low as the number of families staying in Sitapura Industrial Area itself is more than 60,000,” the statement reads.
It also says that the Akshay Patra Foundation is not working up to its full capacity.
“Akshay Patra can serve cooked food to about 2,00,000 people but at the moment they are catering only to some thousand people. The government must ask them to scale up their service,” the statement adds.
PUCL urged the government to restore the Annapurna Rasoi that have been suspended since the lockdown.
“About 35 vans of Annapurna Rasoi used to serve the city before the lockdown and serve food to thousands of people every day. The government must start it again especially at this time when there is no means available to poor to eat,” PUCL statement reads.
It further added that the government must make available dry ration to a large number of people.
“Cooked food doesn’t last for long and is not even adequate, the government should make provisions for dry ration,” it stated.