COVID-19: Ten Pooris for Six People; How an Unplanned Lockdown Failed Migrant Workers

Sudheer Kumar worked as a mason for petty contractors in Mukundpur and other neighbouring areas in North-West Delhi. His daily routine included a visit to the nearest labour chowk where he would meet contractors who would take him to construction sites.

Mukundpur is one of the unauthorised colonies in the Trans Yamuna belt where local property dealers sold thousands of hectares of land to migrant lower-middle class families in the early 2000s. It prompted a boom in the construction of houses and private properties in the area, inviting thousands of workers from the remotest parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Additionally, the belt provided cheap accommodation to millions of factory workers. Kumar is one such worker who earned enough to get by until the coronavirus pandemic hit; and it was followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of a 21-day lockdown. Now, Kumar is jobless and wants to return to his native village in Hajipur, Bihar. He now repents after deciding to stay back in Delhi before the lockdown was announced. The national capital witnessed a mass exodus of migrant workers to their homes after the lockdown was announced.

Kumar told NewsClick that his biggest concern was to feed his family of five. “Local grocery shops have refused to sell me any item on debt. Trains are suspended. If I had returned home, we could have arranged for something, people know us there. They would have certainly helped. We do not know anybody here,” he added. Kumar is one of 400 million Indians who may slip into abject poverty, according to an estimate by the International Labour Organisation.

When asked about the Delhi government’s scheme to distribute free ration to migrant labourers, he said: “I had gone to the ration shop but the dealers are demanding online slips along with Aadhaar Cards, if you do not have ration cards. I do not know how to apply for these online slips.”

Sannu Kumar, a migrant labour from Madhepura district in Bihar, who lives in Sonia Vihar, narrated a similar story. He said that he had returned to Delhi from his village on March 1, after appearing for his Class 12 examination. “My friends, who were working in Delhi, told me to join them as I had nothing much to do. After arriving in Delhi, we worked for 15 days. Soon, the Janta Curfew was announced. Initially, we were told that it was for a day and we thought we could wait,” he said.

On March 24 however, PM Modi announced a 21-day lockdown which could be extended, according to reports. “We are stuck. Our earnings have now been exhausted. When we heard that the Bihar government was serving food in the locality, we decided to go there but when we went out, the police started beating us. We do not have many utensils. So, now one person goes and brings whatever he gets. Today, he has brought 10 pooris and two bowls of sabzi for 6 people. We do not know for how long this situation will persist. Sometimes, we eat only once a day to save food,” Kumar said.

Ram Balak, a local leader of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, has been assisting workers in procuring rations. He said that the area houses thousands of workers who were daily-wagers. “I met an elderly couple who used to sell vegetables in weekly markets and earned a living prior to the riots. After the riots, the Delhi Police banned these weekly markets. They too were planning to migrate but we convinced them to stay and arranged ration for them,” he said. Balak added that ration shops designated to distribute food items are asking for an OTP (One Time Password) from persons who have applied for ration cards but that people have not been receiving it anymore since servers have collapsed.

Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikaar Abhiyan, a campaign for the Right to Food, listed out further discrepancies in the distribution of ration. In its report, it said that “18 of the 24 shops which were open were found to be distributing grains to ration cardholders. The remaining shops stated that they had finished their stock. In 2 shops in Munirka and RK Puram, the shopkeepers claimed that while they had received stock of wheat, they were not distributing rations as the stock of rice was awaited. However, a perusal of the online database of delivery of ration to Fair Price Shops confirms that full allocation of rice for the months of April and May has been delivered to the ration shops.”