No jobs, fear of 3rd wave may keep migrants away

Bajrang Yadav (45), a worker at a gear-box manufacturing factory in west Delhi’s Naraina, along with a few other labourers, boarded a crowded bus from the Anand Vihar interstate bus terminus (ISBT) on April 19 to leave for his village in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh.

Delhi was witnessing an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases and a lockdown was to come into effect on April 20. The government’s assurance that the curbs will be lifted soon failed to keep Yadav back.

Around five weeks since then, Delhi is still under a lockdown, despite the Covid-19 curve reducing significantly, citing which chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said phased relaxations are likely to start from May 31.

But life has changed for Yadav. He lost his elder brother to Covid-19. Though his wife and 13-year-old son have recovered from the viral infection, they are still on medicines. “I will not be able to return to Delhi anytime soon. I have to be with my family till they recover. I have exhausted all my savings on their treatment. I will try getting some work here for the time being,” said Yadav over phone on Tuesday.

Ravi Kumar, who works in a cardboard factory; Brajkishore Tiwari, who works with a catering contractor; Hiralal Jha, a self-employed plumber; and Ehsaan Ali, a construction worker, are among the scores of migrant workers who left the city in the past one month.

More than 800,000 workers left the city in buses from the three ISBTS in the first four weeks of the lockdown, said a government report first published in HT on Saturday. There are many more which the government could not keep count of -- especially people leaving on trains and also those leaving after the first four weeks.

Now, with the infection spreading to villages, workers are caught in a web of death and despair. Several of them and their relatives are infected, dead or still recuperating.

Given that the economy is still in a precarious state, especially amid speculations of an impending third wave, there are many who will not return to Delhi immediately -- they feel they have no safety net and very slim chances of getting a job.

“Last year, workers returned as markets opened. In a few weeks, many of them got jobs too. Now things are different. There is no certainty of any job for a long time as the economy has been hit before it could even recover. In the absence of any safety net, people are scared to return,” said Rajesh Kumar, general secretary, Indian Federation of Trade Unions (Delhi).

This translates to markets, factories, industries, construction sector and business enterprises in the city witnessing a labour shortage and operating below capacity for a significant duration in the days to come.

“A large number of employers are unlikely to be in a position to hire now,” said Neeraj Sehgal, owner of two factories that produce fire retardant and bulletproof doors.

The government, however, said adequate arrangements are in place for migrant workers. Delhi’s revenue minister Kailash Gahlot said: “The government has taken a series of steps for welfare of migrant workers during the lockdown, which includes distributing 100% subsidised ration for two months and expanding the safety net of the construction workers’ welfare scheme, under which registered workers are entitled to ₹5,000 a month as a relief measure.”