YOGI’S SKILL-MAPPING DRIVE FOCUSES ON GIVING JOBS TO LABOURERS RETURNING HOME

drivers, cleaners, factory workers etc. These skilled labourers could be valuable assets for the state,” the same official said.

Pawan Yadav, a resident from UP’S Gonda who used to work as an electrician in Delhi, told The Sunday Guardian: “Many of my friends and I, who have returned to UP, got registered with the ‘skill mapping’ scheme of the government, hoping that we will get some work in our hometown, as in future, we don’t want to face the same suffering and humiliation because of being migrants. We will rather die in our villages instead of stepping out for employment.” Pawan Yadav and many of his friends were forced to return home due to the lockdown.

Pramod Mishra, another resident of UP’S Gonda, told

The Sunday Guardian: “If I get work in UP, I will be more than happy to work here even for a lower remuneration. Why will I go to an unknown city just to earn some money? I wish our Chief Minister is successful in his drive to provide employment to all labourers like me in UP. I was working as a barber, and when the lockdown was announced, I had no option but to sit at home. After 15 days, I ran out of money and then I called my parents for some money, but they couldn’t transfer any. Subsequently, I packed my bags and started walking from Delhi’s Dwarka to my village. On the way, I saw that thousands of people like me were walking on the streets, trying to reach their homes. It took me eight days to reach my home in UP’S Gonda district.”

The majority of the labourers returning home belong to the Purvanchal region— eastern UP and western Bihar. Some of them have got work under MNREGA, but most are still uncertain about what next.

On the condition of anonymity, a block-level official said. “MNREGA has proved to be a lifeline for labourers returning to UP and in past three months, around 60,000 labourers have got work under this scheme. MNREGA work is being monitored and assessed by the Block Development Officers of respective blocks and a timely release of payment to workers is being ensured.” According to senior UP government officials, they are giving effort to provide insurance, direct cash transfers and food so that this backward migration can be turned into an opportunity for the state.