The Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday, 28 March, directed all states and union territories to use State Disaster Response Fund allocations to provide “temporary accommodation, food, clothing, medical care etc. for homeless people, including migrant labourers”, ANI reported.
On Friday (27 March), the MHA had asked state governments to prevent a mass exodus of migrant agriculture labourers, industrial workers and unorganised sector employees to hometowns amid a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, that has claimed 19 lives in India so far and infected over 850 people.
In Friday’s advisory, the home ministry had also asked states to ensure that essential commodities reached hostels, working women’s hostels so that people could stay put. Directions were also given to educate the vulnerable groups to the resources available to them, like the rolling out of schemes for free food grains, gas cylinders and others.
Several thousand migrant workers have set our for their homes across the country in light of the 21-day national lockdown.
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