A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to direct District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police across the country to identify migrant workers and shift them to nearest government facilities so that their basic needs are met.
The petition filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava highlights the situation of the migrant workers who have had to embark on a foot journey towards their native villages due to the nation-wide lock down. The plea mentioned that, “they are either walking on foot or are left stranded at various parts of the country”
This migration of workers happened because when the lockdown came into effect on the 25th March, many workers in the unorganized sector were left without any means of income and they were left with no other option but to try and walk to their native places.
The petition stated, “The biggest sufferers of the crisis are the poor, unregistered migrant workers, working in various big cities of India”. The plea is filed so that the basic needs of these people are taken care of till the lockdown continues.
The petition also raised concern about the native villagers not accepting these migrant workers because of the fear of the Coronavirus treating them as virus carriers.
–India Legal Bureau