L-G Baijal writes to govt over handling of migrants

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The situation had become a little alarming. In the last two days, the situation has come under control. ARVIND KEJRIWAL, Delhi CM

nNEW DELHI: Delhi’s lieutenant governor, Anil Baijal, on Sunday wrote a strongly-worded letter to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal saying there was perhaps “a failure” on the part of the latter’s government in making “adequate and timely arrangements” for the migrant workers, which resulted in their mass exodus from the city.

Officials in Baijal’s office said the letter, a copy of which HT has seen, was sent after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah expressed concern over exposing the workers to health hazard during the ongoing 21-day lockdown imposed to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The lockdown has left hundreds of thousands of migrant workers jobless and forced them to leave cities like Delhi and head to their homes on foot

In his letter, Baijal said most of the measures needed to be taken lie within the Delhi government’s executive domain. He sought urgent measures to ensure adequate arrangements with proper social distancing protocols are made for the workers in accordance with the Centre’s guidelines.

Baijal asked Kejriwal to make “all-out efforts” to reach out to the workers and to convince them to stay where they are or to shift them to government shelters.

“This unfortunate situation shows that contrary to the assurances given in my meetings, there was perhaps a failure to make adequate and timely arrangements for food, water and shelter and to reach out to these poor workers, which led to their mass exodus. It appears that the government could not communicate to them in time, that they would be taken care of during the ‘lockdown’ at their places of stay in Delhi or if need be, in Government shelters,” Baijal said in his letter.

Baijal said this single lapse could defeat the purpose of the lockdown and impose “a very heavy cost” on the nation.

He asked the government to order the employers of the unorganised sector to pay wages to all labourers, keep operations of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses at the bare minimum, persuade labourers to shift to government shelters, widely publicise the availability of such facilities and follow the Centre’s instructions. “We must remember that we cannot afford to fail as this is a now or never time for all of us.”

The chief minister’s office refused a specific comment on the letter.

However, Kejriwal on Monday said the authorities had been able to restore order on the capital’s streets in contrast to the situation on Friday and Saturday when hundreds of thousands of migrant workers gathered for rides to their homes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

“The situation had become a little alarming. In the last two days, the situation has come under control,” Kejriwal said. He added authorities were strictly enforcing the lockdown and turning back those trying to cross the city’s borders. “There is very strict patrolling,” he said.

Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Sunday expressed unhappiness over the government’s move to allow DTC buses to drop the migrants at the Uttar Pradesh border.

Bhalla asked the Delhi government to place two bureaucrats under suspension for lapses in enforcing the lockdown. The two have been issued show-cause notices.