Lapses In Monitoring And Roaming Migrant Workers: Will The Lockdown Succeed In Stopping The Spread?
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
By Linus Garg
First publised on 2020-03-27 20:11:24
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
Two news items have raised a huge concern about whether India will be able to prevent Covid-19 from reaching the dreaded third phase of community transmission despite the unprecedented nation-wide lockdown in place.
In the first news, it was reported that Cabinet Secretary
Rajeev Gauba has written to all states and UTs expressing concern about the gap
in the monitoring of those who have returned from abroad. He cited figures to say
that while the Bureau of Immigration reported nearly 15 lakh international arrivals
in India in the period between January 18 (when screening began at India
airports) and March 23, the monitoring figures reported by states fell far
below that number. Gauba wrote that "this may seriously jeopardize our efforts to contain
the spread of COVID-19, given that many among people who have tested positive
so far in India have a history of international travel. It is important that
they are put under close surveillance to prevent the spread of the epidemic."
In
the second news, it was reported that thousands of migrant workers were defying
the lockdown and had taken to walking back home as no public transport was
available. They were also no maintaining safe distance. In some places, they are
traveling in cargo trains. The Telangana-Andhra border had witnessed scraps
when migrants from Telangana were not allowed to enter Andhra. It was also
reported that private buses were running in Uttar Pradesh, defying the
lockdown. These migrant workers are being herded like cattle in whatever mode
is available and are increasing the risk of community transmission as some of
them might be asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19. Some states, especially the
Delhi administration, has made arrangements for providing food to migrant
workers so that they do not travel back. The Centre has advised states to stop
this exodus by taking care of the needs of the migrants and provide them shelter
and food.
India
needs to tackle these two issues at a war footing failing which the pains of the lockdown
would bear no result. The fight against Covid-19 has to be on all fronts. If
high risk people like international passengers are not monitored properly, the
very purpose of the lockdown will be defeated. Since every India is now pinned
down to his or her present location, the task of finding and then isolating is
that much easier. States and UTs must redouble their efforts to monitor
international passengers and those who came in their contact.
On the other hand, the plight of migrant workers might soon become a big humanitarian issue if not tackled soon. These workers have been thrown out of
their temporary dwellings and are rightly scared. With no wages, they do not
know how they will survive. They are also worried about their families that are
in other states. Hence they are taking the risk of walking back home or jumping
on a cargo train or a private bus that is running illegally. If state
governments do not take immediate steps to stop this exodus by providing food
and shelter, the asymptomatic carriers of the virus among these migrants might
defeat the purpose of the lockdown by taking the virus all over the country.
