Ensure food for stranded workers, accommodation for students: MHA to states

Amid migrant workers leaving cities in large numbers and students and working women facing trouble during national lockdown due to coronavirus, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday asked states to ensure adequate support for them, including arranging food and shelter as well as ensuring that they are not thrown out of their accommodation.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to Chief Secretaries to all states and Union Territories asking them to make adequate arrangements for migrant workers, industrial workers, students and working women among others from outside the states to facilitate social distancing as part of the COVID-19 protocol.

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The advisory by the MHA comes against the backdrop of reports that there has been a large-scale reverse migration from cities to villages as migrant workers cannot find jobs to sustain themselves in urban spaces. There were also reports of students and working women facing trouble after house-owners as well as hostel owners shutting down the facilities in the wake of the 21-day national lock-down from March 25.

The authorities in states and union territories have been asked to provide adequate support, including food and shelter, to migrant agricultural labourers, industrial workers and other unorganised sector workers during the lock-down.

To deal with unorganized sector workers, particularly stranded migrant workers, Bhalla said, the states need to explore measures by involving various agencies, including NGOs, to provide food and shelter with basic amenities like clean drinking water and sanitation. In states like Kerala and Delhi, governments have already announced that they will be providing food to homeless and poor.

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Similarly, they have also been asked to take steps to ensure that students and working women from other states are also allowed to continue in their existing accommodation, amid reports that they are facing trouble.

Authorities should also ensure that hotels, rented accommodations, hostels and similar facilities continue to remain functional and delivery of essential items is streamlined, so that the inmates are allowed to continue in existing facilities, while observing social distancing.

States should also take extra efforts to ensure that vulnerable groups aware of the measures taken by the governments, including provision of free food grains and other essential items through PDS, and streamline the distribution system. "This would help prevent avoidable movement of such people," Bhalla said in his letter.

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While ensuring the supply of essential goods and services, he said, states are being "repeatedly directed" to enforce the lock-down strictly and take action against violators under various provisions of law. This is imperative to contain the spread of Covid-19, he added.