Statement in Response to revised MHA order dated 15 April 2020 Inbox x
2020
Press Release
Health
We, the Working People’s Charter & Aajeevika Bureau, would like to hereby release our joint statement in response to the order as revised and issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, that the lockdown measures, stipulated in consolidated guidelines of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for the containment of the COVID 19, be extended for a further 20 days till the 3rd of May. The Hon’ble Prime Minister’s nationwide address on the lockdown extension, did not emphasise any concrete policy measures needed to urgently support migrant workers. . While we wholeheartedly support the government in its fight against the COVID-19, we release this statement with a great sense of urgency and anguish, reiterating the large scale, ongoing humanitarian crisis that has simultaneously unfolded and has escalated in the country. Over the last 20 days India’s migrant workers, who make up close to 30 % of our workforce, have been severely affected by this lockdown. They are stranded in our cities, cities that they build for us, with the sweat of their labour. Right now, with everything shut, millions of them have no work and no food. Many have no shelter, having been evicted by their landlords. Many organizations and sections of the media have been repeatedly working relentlessly providing updates on this situation on the ground. We believe it is high time that the central and state governments respond to this issue a whole lot better than they have thus far.