Before enforcing lockdown to prevent spread of Covid-19, the Governments of different States never thought of the fate of migrant workers of their States working outside for livelihood. After lockdown which was imposed in haste these traumatised workers stranded in various places were deprived of daily wages or monthly pay as the owners stopped their business or factories. They soon became destitute.
Ultimately the stranded migrant labourers decided to return to their native villages by any mode of transport. Some migrant workers took hard and painful decision to move to their native States on foot covering thousands of km with families in the scorching sun which seemed fiendishly difficult. Under such unpleasant and harrowing journeys, some of them met with tragic ends. The most shocking and pathetic incident was that a goods train mowed down sixteen fatigued workers while they were sleeping on a railway track.
While the Union Government took steps to bring back the stranded Indian nationals from abroad free of cost, it is reluctant to ferry the poor migrants, stranded in different States suffering from hunger, for free. This is our justice system in an egalitarian society. Is it not social discrimination and unfair treatment to the builders of the nation?
Viewed from the size and population of our State, comparatively huge numbers of poor and destitute are migrating to different relatively developed States of the country for livelihood. Abysmal plights and abject miseries are the raison that compelled them for proceeding to other States as daily wager or even bonded labourers. They are working hard there under cruel torture and painful situation. Most of the migrant labourers from our State are working at Surat of Gujarat. The State Government has failed to keep correct and accurate record of these poor migrants. However it is unofficially estimated that more than five lakhs people are engaged in different small , medium and large textile and cotton mills and earn income to sustain and support their families there and at home.
The frustrated and massive jobless home bound Odisha migrants started their journey to native villages by different modes of transport. Some by power boats by sea, some by bus and goods carriages and the most unfortunate workers who were in dire straits decided to walk covering thousands of kms with their families. This mass exodus of migrant workers under extreme condition met with extraordinary hazards on their way to native villages and many lost their lives during journey.
Ultimately, under moral pressure and obligation special trains to ferry the distressed and demoralised workers have been now arranged by the Government with the condition that 85 per cent of railway fare would be borne by the Central Government and rest by concerning State Governments.
After arrival of migrant workers, outbreak of Covid -19 is exponentially increasing in different districts of Odisha due to two reasons: first owing to their congregated livings with infected persons and second, during the journey they came in contract with fellow infected passengers which spread virulent virus. They are really unable to avoid extended contracts. It is expected that 4 lakh to 5lakh migrants of the State may arrive in Odisha . Can the Government be capable of accommodating and adjusting all these home-bound migrants in quarantine centres to prevent transmission of virus to other unaffected people? This burden of home bound migrant labourers from different States would undoubtedly pose intractable problems for the Government and its people. However the Government is duty bound to prevent the extended contracts from these home coming poor migrants at different Panchayats , otherwise the virus would spread among the unaffected people of that Panchayat and subsequently Odisha would be one of the epicentres of Covid-19.
Our Government has no tenable record of accounts of migrant workers working in different States. They are leaving their villages to work in the other States due to abject poverty and misery. Of course, it is a fact that some people have landed property to maintain their families comfortably but considering that agriculture is no more a profitable business, they prefer to work in remote places far away from their villages. Now Covid-19 has exposed the abject poverty and abysmal miseries of the migrant workers, working in different parts of the country. It is time the Government of Odisha formulated a pragmatic plan and concrete policy to employ and absorb these poor workers in their own State.
Major sector to absorb them is agriculture. The economic package announced by the Prime Minister has ample opportunities for these poor migrant labourers. If agriculture would be well reformed, the cherished desire of the Government would be fairly achieved and the fate of the workers would be radically changed.
There are three obstacles which impede higher growth of agriculture. Firstly lack of infrastructure, secondly lack of growth oriented training to farmers for higher production and thirdly no loan guarantee to needy farmers with minimum interest. These problems must be sorted out.
Next to agriculture, which can absorb the migrant workers is MSMEs. Recently, a package has been announced by the Prime Minister to revive the sector. Odisha needs to focus on it.
(The writer is a columnist who lives at Nilakantheswar Marg, Baramunda, Bhubaneswar)
