26 migrants from Jharkhand stuck in Nepal, send Covid SOS
We have contacted the Dumka administration to provide them help immediately, says state migrant control room official
RANCHI: As many as 26 migrant labourers from Jharkhand’s Dumka district, currently stuck in the Sindhupalchowk district of Nepal, have sought help from the Jharkhand government for their immediate rescue, as all of them are suffering from Covidlike symptoms and facing a shortage of food due to lockdown there.
In a video message, the workers said that they are stranded in Nepal due to lockdown and most of them have fallen sick but getting no medical attention there. They have requested the Jharkhand government to “save their lives.”
Migrant worker Narayan Das, a native of Ramgarh block of Dumka district and currently residing in Nepal, said that all 26 labourers from Dumra district are stuck at Gauri Gaon village in Sindhupalchowk district of Nepal.
“We had come here for construction work in a hydro-power plant about two-and-a-half months back. A contractor from Himachal Pradesh brought us here. In past one week, we all fell sick one by one. We have symptoms like fever and cough. Some of us were given saline, but we are not getting proper medical care here,” Das said.
He said, “Because of soaring cases of Covid-19, the lockdown has been imposed here. So, we are also struggling to arrange for food. We don’t have money to buy food and treatment or return home.”
“We request the Jharkhand government to please help and rescue us from here. Otherwise, we might die without proper treatment,” Das said.
The state migrant control room (SMCR) officials said they were in touch with the labourers. “We have communicated the Dumka administration to provide them immediate help,” said Shikha Lakra, SMCR team head. Deputy development commissioner (DDC), Dumka, Sanjay Singh said, “We have been
informed that around 35 labourers are stuck in Nepal. However, we are not focusing on numbers, as we have to bring all those stranded there.”
“Since they are stuck in a foreign land, we have to follow certain protocols. The deputy commissioner is writing a letter to the Indian embassy in Kathmandu seeking guidance on how to rescue them. We will begin the rescue operation once permission is granted,” Singh said.
He said buses would be sent according to the number of labourers stranded there. “A team of paramedics equipped with Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits would also go to ascertain the health condition of the labourers. If anyone is found infected with Coronavirus, we will ensure a separate arrangement to bring him. In case anyone found to be seriously ill, we will ensure to get a better medical facility in Nepal,” he said.
Not only in Nepal, thousands of labourers, who are stranded in different states of the country, have also sought Jharkhand’s governments help for their rescue. According to the data provided by the state control room, as many as 6044 migrant workers are stuck in different states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, and they want to return.
Lakhs of migrant labourers working in different parts of the country have already returned home after cases started rising in April this year.