A GROUP OF 13 MIGRANT WORKERS FROM Bihar, who had just begun their journey back home on foot from Valsarawakkam in Chennai on May 19, had chalked out a plan. “Our target is to reach TJS Engineering College in Gummidipoondi [a government-run camp]. People from our village are there. They left yesterday. We will join them and go to Patna from there,” one of them, Rajesh, said.
Why were they leaving Chennai just when industries were reopening after the lockdown? “We are running out of money because we haven’t worked for about two months,” said one of them. His friend said they were not sure of getting jobs at the same place. “We are also scared of corona,” said another. “It is better to go home during times like these.”
Just as they crossed the Anna Nagar Cooum bridge on the Inner Ring Road, a few volunteers on the road gave them masks and caps. A little way ahead, a mini truck driver offered them a lift to Madhavaram, a northern suburb closer to Gummidipoondi. “He demanded only Rs.500 to take all of us to our destination,” said one of them. With a lot of luck and with the help of another truck driver, they reached Gummidipoondi by evening.
While there has been no news of their onward journey, the 13 were confident that they will somehow manage to reach their destination. Their optimism was not misplaced: of all the migrant labourers who have been on the road to Andhra Pradesh and beyond, this group perhaps had taken the shortest time to reach Gummidipoondi from the city—50 km in about eight hours—while other groups, some consisting of women and children, obviously took much longer.
This story is from the June 5, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 5, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
