With in hours Indian Prime Minsiter Modi announced 2nd lockdowm for 17 days that is until May 13 more than 1,000 migrant workers who earn daily wages gathered and shouted in Mumbai on Tuesday demanding transport arrangements to go back to their native places
Not Just Bandra in maharastra but also Home state of India PM Modi Gujarat also witnesses Migrant workers in thousands stage protest in Surat, squat on road caused chaos.
The gathering in suburban Bandra, in violation of lockdown norms, created a potential law and order situation for an overstretched police force and the men in uniform resorted to mild force to scatter the crowd. A police official said the migrants, who assembled around 3 pm, were dispersed two hours later and have been assured accommodation and food till the lockdown lasts.
[splco_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AErxUZ4uahU” autoplay=”yes” title=”Migrant workers in thousands who earn daily wages gathered and shouted in Mumbai “]
In viral videos, police were seen resorting to mild cane-charge to disperse the migrants, who had gathered at the bus depot near the Bandra railway station in suburban Mumbai.
ALSO READ: Coronavirus : PM extends lockdown; Congress DMK grill BJP governance
The daily wage earners in various Hot spots in India were chiefly demanding arrangement of transport facilities so that they can go back to their native towns and villages.
Due to Short 6 hours notice of first lockdown for 21 days migrants workers with their familes who denied transport started by foot over 400km jouney resulted chaos ..
After anouncement BJP government took damagae control exercises and asked millions of migarnt workers to stay where they are but state governments that taken this burden found difficult to give them space for Social distancing and foods distribution also become bone of content .
This sort of conested migrants with their familes become camp and refrred as Hotspots across India .. It is belevied more than 40 million migrant workers stranded across india .. Open revolt when 2nd lockdown for 17 days announced the display of revolt scene at two places Bandra and Surat reveals that the Center BJP government led by Modi is clueless in handling migrant crisis .
It is to be noted Daily wage workers have been rendered jobless ever since the 21 days lockdown was announced late last month to stem the spread of COVID-19, making their life a constant struggle.
Though authorities and NGOs have made arrangements for their food, most of them want to go back to their native places to escape the hardship brought by the sweeping curbs on movement of people. Train and bus services were suspended as part of the lockdown exercise.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said the migrant workers who gathered outside Bandra railway station might have expected that the PM would order reopening of state borders.
They were told by the police that borders are not going to be opened and the situation was now under control, Deshmukh said.
The migrants were assured that the state government will make arrangement of food and accommodation for them, following which the crowds dispersed, the minister said.
The gathering triggered a blame-game between the Shiv Sena-led government and the opposition BJP.
Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray blamed the Centre for the protest by the migrant workers and sought a road map to facilitate their journey back to their native places.
In a series of tweets, Thackeray said, “The current situation in Bandra, now dispersed or even the rioting in Surat is a result of the union government not being able to take a call on arranging a way back home migrant labour.”
[splco_quote]”They don’t want food or shelter, they want to go back home,” Thackeray said. He said feedback from all migrant labour camps is similar – that these workers want to go back to their native places.[/splco_quote]
“Many are refusing to eat or stay in these camps,” he said. Currently, more than six lakh people are housed in various shelter camps across Maharashtra, he added.
Describing the Bandra gathering as an intelligence failure, former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya said the state government should explain how so many people gathered at a spot despite the lockdown.
BJP leader and former minister Ashish Shelar said the protest shows failure of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in enforcing lockdown.
According to a police official, the daily wage earners assembled at the bus depot and squatted on the road leading to the suburban railway station.
Local Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique said this situation arose when people came to know about the lockdown extension.
[splco_quote]”This is not a government failure, because we are also monitoring the situation from the very beginning. I personally distributed essential commodities to more than 50,000 people. Under such a situation police should talk politely with the common man,” Siddique said.[/splco_quote]
One of the labourers, who did not reveal his name, said, NGOs and local residents are providing food to migrant workers, but they want to go back to their native states as the lockdown has affected their source of livelihood.
“Now, we don’t want food, we want to go back to our native place, we are not happy with the announcement (extending the lockdown),” he said.
Amit a labour , who hails from from Malda in West Bengal, said, “We have spent our savings during the first phase of the lockdown. We have nothing to eat now, we just want to go back at our native place, the government should made arrangements for us.”
Another labourer, Mitu , said, “I am in Mumbai for last many years but have never seen such a situation. The government should start trains to shift us from here to our native place.”
Migrant workers gather outside Bandra West Railway Station as they defy lockdown
Hundreds of migrant workers took to the streets of Mumbra town in Thane district on Tuesday, demanding that they be sent to their hometowns in light of the COVID-19 lockdown, which has rendered them jobless.
Workers, mostly from Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, who live in rented accommodations, claimed house-owners were demanding rent from them and they were unable to procure essentials.
[splco_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9dlxzRSpa8″ title=”Not Just Mumbai but also in Gujarat also witnesses Migrant workers in thousands stage protest in Surat”]
Thousands of migrant workers gathered in Surat on Tuesday evening, demanding that they are sent to their native places despite lockdown, police said.
The migrant workers gathered in Varachha area of Surat city and sat on a road demanding that they should be allowed to go to their native places, police said.
“These migrant workers want to go to their native places. We have asked them not to be impatient because a lockdown is in force at present. “Since some of them were complaining about the food, we have called an NGO and immediately brought food packets for them. The situation is now under control,” a police officer at the spot told reporters.
