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Video Editor: Varun Sharma & Mohd Ibrahim
Video Producer: Zijah Sherwani
It is estimated that since the COVID lockdown was imposed in March, more than 67 lakh migrants charted their way back home to 116 districts in six states. This number will only grow as the pandemic keeps growing, data compiled by the Union Skill Development Ministry indicates.
Due to the sudden closure of industries, migrant workers were left without jobs or a source of income to feed their families. The lockdown has severely affected small traders and salaried employees who lost their jobs, migrant workers were only the first to face the economic consequences of the nationwide lockdown.
In my hometown Hojai in Assam, stories of three migrant workers – Forij Uddin, Mehbub Alam, Abdul Basit – highlight the financial crisis being faced by the poor of the nation.
Uncertain about his future, 26-year-old Forij Uddin says there is no job for him in Assam. Forij was working as pantry boy in Mumbai but he lost his job due to the lockdown. He returned to Hojai because he had exhausted his options, but there is no hope back home either.
Feeding his family is getting tougher as the days pass.
Mehbub Alam returned from Mumbai in March as well. His job as a cab driver was in jeopardy ever since the coronavirus outbreak. The 23-year-old lost his job and came back to his village but there’s no income to sustain himself. As the sole earner of the family, he has the responsibility of four family members.
For Abdul Basit, his journey from Mumbai to Assam was full of difficulties. The 19-year-old was working at a hotel in Mumbai. He was suddenly told that the hotel had been closed and that he can go to his village. With minimum money in hand, he travelled in a government sponsored bus and reached West Bengal. However, for the rest of his journey to Assam, he had to rent a vehicle. Basit earns Rs 9,000 in a month and has to support five family members.
Upon asking about the future, Basit replied, “What is there to say about the future? I have no job there or here, just sitting in wait.”
The Modi government recently launched a scheme 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan' for the returned migrant workers of six states – Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha. However, Assam does not figure in the list.
When asked if they would like to work under the the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in their villages, Forij, Mehbub and Basit say that opportunities aren’t many. Moreover, their skills differ.
These migrant workers are going through a financial crisis with no job and savings in hand. With the pandemic still looming, their future is in darkness.
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