200+ words Essay on Migrants of India

Essay on migrants of India-

As per World Economic Forum, India has 139 million migrants. Most of the migrants within the country come from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Mumbai and Delhi attract the very best range of migrants.

Reasons of migration

Survival is the main reason of migration. Whereas most men migrate in search of work for their survival, women migrate after their marriage.

Migrant workers mainly work in the manufacturing and construction industries as daily wage labourers. They belong to rural areas but live in cities for their survival, working in cities for most of the year. They migrate to urban cities in search of work.

Status of Migrants in India

They are deprived of healthcare, housing and sanitation. According to the 2011 census of India, Maharashtra has the largest number of migrants. Millions of migrant workers had to lose their job work as lockdown was imposed in India on March 24th 2020. Without any savings and living in industrial units, they had to deal with the loss of their source of income, food, shortage and uncertainly about their future.

Impact of lockdown on Migrants

Due to nationwide lockdown, all transport facilities were closed. Thousands of them, began walking to reach their home back. Government took many steps to help them by arranging transport for them. Due to food shortage, many of them with their families starved to death. Many migrants died due to starvation, suicides, exhaustion, road and rail accidents and denial of timely medical care.

Due to lack of basic survival kit- which includes food, clothes and shelter, the migrants faced a lot of problems. They faced work crisis due to which they had to walk back to their native places as the transportation was absent because of lockdown. Many migrants died on their way to home.

Migrant workers of India

In the third week of April 2021, the second wave of COVID-19 again infected millions of people of India. As per available data on April 21, 2021, more than 2000 people lost their lives in a single day across India. Approximately 3,00,000 people are got infections in a single day. So restrictions imposed first on the weekend following by a one-week lockdown in the national capital Delhi. It started on April April 17, 2021, Saturday to April 18 2021 on weekends. After that One-week lockdown has been extended in Delhi to curb the COVID-19 Virus till morning April 26, 2021.

This starting of lockdown again, have sparked the exit of migrants workers from cities. Even after assurance given by government that government will address their need. The government has failed to build a strong social security net for migrant workers.

Niti Aayog’s 2021 policy framework on migrant workers has a lot of recommendation. These are 1. Developing a central database for migrant workers

2. Setting up a social security safety net :-

A) Health cards

B) Adequate housing

C) Access to school for their children

D) Extension of Public Distribution System Services

These recommendations need time to be operationalised.

To prevent humanitarian distress of migrant workers, states must do all above .

States must consider:-