Vijayawada: Migrant workers urge the government to send them home

Vijayawada: Hundreds of migrant workers, who came from other districts and states and are stranded in Vijayawada, are eagerly waiting to return their homes as they are struggling to meet the day-to-day expenses.

With the sudden announcement of lockdown by the Centre to curtail the spread of deadly coronavirus (Sars Cov2), the poor migrant workers mostly belonging to unorganized sectors have been left in lurch without money and job. In Vijayawada about 1,400 migrant workers have been put up in shelter homes run by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) in different parts of the city.

The civic body has arranged shelters at VMC schools, night shelters, social welfare hostels etc. The VMC and NGOs have been providing them with meals three times a day. The VMC is conducting health check on these migrant workers every day and are conducting Covid-19 tests also. Some NGOs are donating soaps, clothes, towels, toothbrushes, etc as they have been lodged in pathetic conditions away from their homes.

While they have lost their livelihood, uncertainty looms over them as they are unsure of when the lockdown would be lifted. These labourers are reluctant to stay at these centres and are eagerly waiting for the lifting of lockdown or some relaxation so that they can go to their homes.

At the CVR Municipal High School in Governor pet nearly 200 migrant workers are taking shelter. Most of them are hotel workers and they used to visit their homes in other districts once in a week. But now they have been living in these relief camps since the lockdown was announced on March 22. Some of them belong to Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Kurnool, Guntur, Nellore and other districts.

R Kondaiah (name changed), a labourer from Khammam district, said for the past one month he had been living in the shelter home. He said that he had no money even to buy a cup of tea since the lockdown was announced. These workers, who have tested negative to the Covid-19, were asking the government to send them back to their homes as they were very healthy and not infected with Covid-19.

K Siva a migrant worker from Kurnool said he was disappointed with the lockdown. He said he was left with no money because the hotel where he works was closed. These workers were worried that if the Covid-19 breaks out in the relief camps, then most of them would be infected.

CPM state secretariat member Ch Babu Rao demanded that the government take a decision to send all these workers back to their homes or render financial assistance of Rs1,000 to meet their personal needs.