The government has informed the Lok Sabha today, on August 10, that some Rohingya migrants have been indulging in illegal activities, without specifying the said reports or the kind of alleged illegal activity.

The Minister of State in the Home Ministry, Nityanand Rai added that all foreign nationals who enter into the country without valid travel documents are treated as illegal migrants. His answer read, “There are reports about some Rohingya migrants indulging in illegal activities.”

He was asked questions by Lok Sabha members Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt and Sanjay Kaka Patil about the current situation of the Rohingya Muslims living illegally in various parts of the country along with the number of Rohingyas who are in the country with the United Nations refugee cards.

In its written response, the MHA said that the Central Government has issued instructions to State Governments and Union Territory administrations advising them to sensitise the law enforcement and intelligence agencies for taking appropriate steps for prompt identification of illegal migrants, their restriction to specified locations as per provisions of law.

On the data pertaining to Rohingyas, the answer read, “Since illegal migrants enter into the country without valid travel documents in clandestine and surreptitious manner, accurate data regarding the number of such migrants living in the country is not centrally available.”

The Home Ministry also stated that consolidated instructions to tackle the issue of “overstay and illegal migration of foreign nationals” have been issued on March 30, 2021.

Previously on July 20, 2021, the Home Ministry had provided answers to similar questions stating that, “Illegal migrants (including Rohingyas) pose a threat to national security. There are reports about some Rohingya migrants indulging in illegal activities.”  

Rohingyas have been facing discrimination, violence, fear of persecution in their home state of Myanmar, which is a Buddhist majority country, forcing them to flee. Known as one of the world’s most persecuted ethnic groups, almost 40,000 Rohingya refugees are scattered across different Indian states at present, out of which only 16,500 are reportedly registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

According to a report in Voice of America News, Hussain Ahmad, a Rohingya rights activist based on Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, has stated that the Rohingya refugees are being unfairly harassed by the Indian authorities. He said, “Indian police are asking for travel documents from these refugees who are on the run, scared of their lives. How will the stateless Rohingya refugees be able to produce Burmese passports or Indian visas?”

VoA News also quoted Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch saying, “India knows well that the Rohingya are one of the most persecuted communities in the world. Nearly a million are refugees in Bangladesh. A few that have arrived in India need to be protected and not persecuted again. This is a responsibility of the Indian authorities under the refugees convention as well… For political reasons we find that the Rohingya are being targeted largely because the Hindu nationalist government….tends to persecute all Muslims, including Rohingya refugees.”

The recent Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 also does not provide any relief to Rohingya Muslims who have fled from Myanmar over the years, rendering them stateless.

The answers may be read here:

Related:

A Ray of Hope for all Refugee Communities in India
“Genocidal intent” in Human Rights violations committed against Rohingya in Myanmar: UN
UN chief concerned over India’s plan to deport Rohingya Muslims
40 Rohingya villages burned since October: HRW

The post Rohingya migrants involved in illegal activities: MHA appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“My mother lost her job because of the lockdown. We were surviving on what my school Principal Dhyani sir has always given, as his personal gift to me, to encourage me to study. Principal sir is the father figure in my life. I would be nothing if not for him. I would be finished without him,” for Shivam, vice-principal Dhyani of the government senior secondary school, TrilokPuri is a Guru in the truest sense. A mentor who spotted Shivam’s gift of art and kept an eye on the boy whose life was full of challenges that could cripple the strongest man. 

Shivam, uses one name and says he is 18-years-old. He has been raised by a single mother and she is the only one he owes any allegiance to. Meena, his mother, is also his topmost concern, as years of hardships have taken their toll on the 45-year-old woman’shealth, something she neglected, as her top priority was Shivam, and his education. “My admission to a school was a massive struggle. I did not have any identification documents,” but my mother managed to get me educated somehow. By the end of this academic year, Shivam will sit for his class 12th exam, and then hopes to study further. Shy and petite of form, he has the most expressive eyes, and is currently very upset with the spurt of acne on his face. “I am glad we all have to wear a mask now,” he laughs. His eyes are expressive, and reflect his emotions, twinkling when he shares the plans for his future, and darkening when he speaks of what makes him sad, “I have seen so much struggle in life that I feel I grew up too fast. ”

That lifelong struggle to survive, however, paled in comparison to the events that unfolded as the national lockdown was announced once the Covid-19 pandemic. Hyper observant Shivam saw, for the first time in his life, a human exodus, people escaping, from an invisible enemy that his own home city Delhi had turned into for lakhs of migrants. They were walking back to their villages, on the highway, a couple of kilometres from the shanty dwelling Shivam and his mother lived in. She kept him indoors, but he saw everything on the news he was glued to on his phone. “I was observing what was happening around me. I saw the news and all the images on my phone, which my mother had bought for me, on instalments a few years ago. These images shocked me. I saw a man carry his mother on his back. I saw his bleeding feet. So many migrants had bleeding feet. This was stuck in my head,” recalls Shivan who stayed awake, too disturbed to sleep that night. 

He needed to express the conflict within. So he did, the only way he knew, “I sat up, took a pen and paper and began drawing. It was a red pen, it was all I had at home,” red, the colour of blood, had shown itself. “I drew the migrant’s blood-soaked footprint. Then I remembered the families I saw walking and drew the figures. I could feel their pain. I am poor, I have nothing, but they are worse off. They do not even have what I have. I could not bear it,” his voice shook at the memory.

His faith in art as an expression, and the conviction that it can help change things has remained steady. “My mother and I did not have anything ever, but these were small kids who were walking home on an empty stomach.” The ‘migrants footprint’, as this reporter, calls is the king of artwork that touches you instantly. The drawing was posted online by vice-principal BP Dhyani. Soon enough, it went viral. Senior journalists tweeted and re-tweeted it. Then Shivam’s own life story was shared. Soon enough everything changed, life as Shivam once knew it, has taken a turn for the better. “Everyone appreciated my artwork, I did not expect it. Dhyani Sir put it online and everyone heard my story too. People donated even for our rent. I was surprised.” Shivam remembers telling his mother that things were about to change and that he will take care of her now. 

Best year of his life ever, he says. “My birthday is August 26 1999 I think, my mother told me once, though she has lost my birth certificate. I know I was born in Delhi,” he adds. The school papers say he is 18, so that is what is his official age. It does not matter to Shivam, it is the years that are yet to unfold that matter, “I want to buy her a house when I earn well,” he says that is his goal in life. Meena, his mother, has always had a hard life. Her own father was very strict and would hit her. “He did not educate her even when she wanted to study, her brother and sister were sent to school,” says Shivam. She was married off to Ashok, a much older man, a widower who had two sons. She loved them and took care of them. “He was alcoholic and would beat my mother, we lived near the Badarpur border. One day she left him to escape the beating and to protect me. She came back to her grandfather’s house across the city, in Trilokpuri. We soon heard that my father had died due to liver failure.” 

Though it was a shock, Shivam and his mother now had to deal with her own father who was also an alcoholic and would also beat his daughter. “She left her father’s house and rented a room for us. She then took up a job as a cleaner. I can’t even imagine how much she struggled to bring me up. I started realising it as I grew up. We have slept hungry. We have been homeless and lived under a tree for a while,” he says. She was however always insistent that he go to school somehow. “She did not want me to be denied an education like she was. I had to study on my own. I started schooling around 2009. I was 12-years old I think, when joined class one. The others in the class were little kids. I did feel strange, even the chairs and tables were small. But the day I started attending school, was the happiest one in my life thus far. I did not know anything before, and after I started attending school I began to work hard and learn fast. I had great teachers even in primary school. When I got my school bag and books I was deliriously happy.” Shivam’s eyes twinkle at the happy memories. 

He recalls being scared because he did not know anything. But soon enough he was keen to stay in school all day. “I made many friends, the little kids. I was famous in that school soon. Guess how?  Because I could draw and paint,” he remembers another mentor at the government primary school. “Principal Rampal sir recognised my talent, one day he saw me drawing in my book and asked me to draw on the blackboard. I drew Shivji and Hanumanji, and the entire class started clapping.”

His mother got a good job as a cleaner in an export house in Noida. But soon she got very unwell, due to stress induced by sheer poverty and she lost her job. “So we began painting plaster of Paris statues at home. I did the fine painting, and earned more than her, Rs 1,500 when I was 14-years old,” he recalls. But the toxic paint fumes made Shivam sick “I fainted once and we had to quit that job. We had no money to pay rent. No one helped us. My mother left me with my grandmother and went to work somewhere.” 

He never looked back and joined his current school in class six. He remembers studying by himself because he could not afford tuition. He also practised drawing. Passing exams one by one, scraping through maths. In class nine, Shivam also took up a part time job as a cleaner, “I went to work in the morning, then school in the evening, and I would walk to that Noida office at 6 AM. I swept and mopped the floors at two offices. Principal Dhyani saw that on some days I would miss school because I had to do my mother’s work on the days she was unwell, to save her job. Sir called me and asked me to quit my job and said he will pay me the salary I earned. Since then he has been giving me Rs 2,000 and has told me to focus on my studies. That money helped pay for our food and mother’s medicine.” 

However, the mother and son still had rent to pay, and had borrowed money to pay for Meena’s medicines. After the lockdown things had hit rock bottom for them. Thankfully Shivam’s talent, and the support of scores of citizens who have donated cash and offered more help, has given them a second chance at life. “My mother is so happy now, she would dance if she was stronger. She started crying when she heard that people gave me money and she is scared of evil eye,” Shivam says. She wants to pay all the rent due first then, “buy food and medicines.”  

“Even my clothes were given by my uncle. I like good clothes but I do not want to think about this now. I will not even get married till I am very successful. I want to be an artist, a professional one. But even if I get a job in a call centre I will take it up. I need to earn for my mother. I would love to be an artist, or be a painting teacher. Principal sir is also suggesting fine arts. But he wants me to do well in class 12,” he has big dreams but knows the road ahead is long, and can be bumpy still, “I need to learn a lot about art, learn about colours, learn the technicality of art, I have to work hard, I know. I have lost time because of the lockdown.” he says his immediate goal is to pass class 12 and he cannot wait for school to reopen soon, “a real classroom is more satisfying than studying online. I do not mind even coming to school on Sunday. I do not have books yet because I had no money. I was studying online and even on YouTube. I will get books soon.”

He also needs a PAN card soon, he says, so he can open an account where he will save his, “earnings as an artist.” If all goes well, he may soon sell the ‘migrant’s footprint,’ to a collector soon, and save the money for the future, “I want to take English speaking lessons and also learn more about computers.” These he feels will help him earn well enough to buy a house for his mother, “I do not want her to struggle ever again. I even have a mental photo of our house. It will have a small garden, and nice room, and a verandah with a tulsi plant, and a temple for my mother. I want an open house. I love gardening.”

“I still can’t believe what is happening to me now. I could not have imagined it. I saw the love and support that came on twitter. So many offered to help. This is my chance. God has given me this opportunity, even when the times are so bad. The world is opening up for me, and I will work hard. I just had a small dream. Now I will fulfil all of that.” 

Shivam also wants to pay forward, perhaps volunteer to teach dance, and art. “Dance is my other love. I want to teach fitness dance, that is also one of my goals. People enjoy it, and it pays well. I will also learn it. I have many plans,” he says. Above everything, he hopes that the migrants have reached their homes safe.

The post “I saw a man carry his mother on his back, I saw his bleeding feet” appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Covid-19 pandemic still surging across the country has not only taken a physical toll on the people of India, but has particularly been a trying experience for minorities across the country after reports of widespread racism against those from the North-East and the ostracization of Muslims brought about by the media.

However, there are some instances which go to show that no matter how much some elements try to communalize the pandemic, the reality on ground will always be different.

An example of this came through a recent video where Muslims were seen offering food to the train passengers of Mizoram. A Shramik special train was on its way to Mizoram, taking stranded labourers back home, when it made a halt in Begusarai when villagers rushed with food packets to be delivered to them, reported The Siasat Daily.

Thanking the villagers for their gesture Mizoram CM Zoramthanga took to Twitter and said, “Few days after stranded Mizos offers their food to flood-affected victims on their way back, a brief halt of their #ShramikSpecialTrain at #Begusarai Bihar witnessed good #Samaritans offering them food in return! Goodness for goodness. #India is beautiful when flooded with #Love (sic).”

Few days after stranded Mizos offers their food to flood-affected victims on their way back, a brief halt of their #ShramikSpecialTrain at #Begusarai Bihar witnessed good #Samaritans offering them food in return!
Goodness for goodness.#India is beautiful when flooded with #Love pic.twitter.com/6aPs3BQoc1

— Zoramthanga (@ZoramthangaCM) May 30, 2020

The act of humanity was also lauded by many others on Twitter.

Kindness and love can buy you the whole world.#Begusarai#Samaritans #Bihar https://t.co/jTdSsknBaz

— Ketan Bhardwaj (@ketanbhardwaj13) June 2, 2020

Watch the villagers of #Begusarai, #Bihar offer food to people of #Mizoram as their train briefly halted on their journey back home. No hidden motives, No tactics to bag recognition, Pure Humanity!

We all have a lot of humanity left in us than we Imagine!pic.twitter.com/T8pl8umeJ9

— Shubhanand Mukesh (@shubhanandmukes) May 31, 2020

In the face of adversity, it is heart-warming to see humanity come together.

This time #samaritans offering food at #Begusarai, #Bihar to people on their way back home to #Mizoram in #ShramikSpecialTrain!#gratitude https://t.co/RiMei37G5n

— Indus Action #Volunteers (@IndusAction) June 1, 2020

What you sow, so shall you reap!

In first video, Mizo students and residents who are coming from Bangalore helping flood affected Muslim community in Assam & in second video some Muslim peoples in Bihar provided foods to same Mizos who are on their way home.#IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/LryOUSwJrG

— Suman Chakma (@sumanchakma) May 31, 2020

This gesture came days after disturbing news of attacks and vandalism on Northeast bound trains in Bihar. At least two Shramik Special trains were attacked in the state. Inside Northeast reported that on May 24, a train arriving from Gurgaon carrying over 1,300 migrants to Dimapur was attacked by locals from Bihar after it crossed the Patna junction. It was reported that locals not only forcibly tried to enter inside the train, but also pelted stones and hit the doors and windows with sticks. The returnees also alleged that they had spent over 20 hours without food and water.

However, the chief spokesperson of Northeast Frontier Railway, Subhanan Chandra and the CPRO East Central Railway, Rajesh Kumar both termed the incident as a “minor scuffle”, The Hindu reported. Passengers also told the publication that the police took no action against the miscreants and remained mere spectators to the matter, apart from being violent against the returnees instead of taking action to stop the violent crowd.

A special train from #Gurugram which was going to #Dimapur was attacked in #Bihar & another train from #Goa bound to #jiribam was also attacked while on a transit in Bihar
…#MigrantWorkers pic.twitter.com/hWg4p8msCB

— Modern Shrines (@ModernShrines) May 26, 2020

On May 25, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh issued a statement condemning the attack on another Shramik special train 01650 that was bringing back stranded people from Goa to Manipur, ANI reported. He urged Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to look into the incident and book the miscreants. The train was attacked twice, once outside Barauni station and second time outside Katihar station.  

I strongly condemn the attack on a special train,ferrying stranded people from Goa to my state.A mob attacked the train on Sunday when it halted in Bihar.I appeal to Bihar CM Sh @NitishKumar to book the miscreants immediately. Requesting Sh @PiyushGoyal to look into this. pic.twitter.com/BWELsDE6IV

— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) May 25, 2020                

The goons passed vulgar and racist remarks against the returnees and even threatened to kill those on the train. A report by Scroll.in also showed that the train was to carry 914 Manipuris and 75 Arunachali persons and leave from Madgaon to run a 61 hour journey to Manipur. However, it turned into a hellish nightmare, first with the authorities giving an advisory that all returnees had to carry their own water, food and essentials, second due to filthy toilets and lack of water in bathrooms and third, due to the incessant attacks the returnees had to face.

Very much grieved to see d attacked at d train from Goa bound to Jiribam (MANIPUR)carrying passengers of NORTH-EASTERN REGION while on a transit in BIHAR on MONDAY,May 25. Plz look into this @srinivasiyc @Neerajkundan @RahulGandhi @GauravGogoiAsm @sushmitadevinc @PradyotManikya pic.twitter.com/79Ca70fevK

— Shyamananda Ningombam (@shyamanan1NSUI) May 27, 2020

URGENT: Clogged toilets in Goa to Manipur Shramik train. Passengers set off in train 01650 from Madgaon on 21 May have found themselves in this horrible situation. We request immediate intervention, train has passed Patna just now@KonkanRailway @RailwaySeva @misskaul @GovtofGoa pic.twitter.com/TeN2tNZSge

— Public Bolti (@PublicBolti) May 24, 2020

The callousness of the Central government, first in issuing transport for migrants and second, in failing to assure their health and safety has evidently come to the fore with these attacks.

Related:

Don’t charge migrants for any rail or bus fare, says SC; puts onus on states
Why are only trains carrying migrants being ‘diverted’ to take longer routes?

The post Muslim villagers in Bihar offer food to migrants on Mizoram-bound train in humanitarian gesture appeared first on SabrangIndia.

One day short of completing the 4th phase of the Covid-19 lockdown, India still seems a long way from conquering the Covid-19 beast. According to the Central government, as on May 26, a total of 22.81 lakh people were in quarantine facilities all over the country.

In Maharashtra, the number of people currently in home quarantine is 535,467 and those in institutional quarantine is 35,967. In Gujarat, a total of 482, 434 people are in quarantine – 471,003 in home quarantine, 10,732 in government facilities and 699 in private facilities. In Bihar, those in quarantine stand at 2.1 lakh, in Uttar Pradesh – 3.6 lakh, in Chhattisgarh – 1.86 lakh, in Odisha – 1.18 lakh, 88,536 in Jharkhand, 13,941 in Assam and 1.32 lakh in West Bengal.

The authorities are yet to enhance testing measures and streamline the methods of transportation of migrants back to their villages. Now, with the number of infections surging, the authorities are finding it difficult to operate their quarantine centers efficiently and provide people admitted to them with basic facilities like hygiene and nutritious food.

Media reports about abysmal quarantine facilities

If one goes through the innumerable media reports on the matter, it will be apparent that people are fleeing quarantine centers, especially those from the underprivileged sections citizens who are lodged in facilities provided by the state government, alleging they are treated like second-class citizens and untouchables who struggle for food, water, clean restrooms and basic medical care. These reports highlight how the quarantine facilities are not upto the mark, especially in terms of food and sanitation.

A fortnight ago, over 100 migrants in Latehar, Jharkhand escaped from a quarantine centre citing poor facilities there, The Times of India reported.

At a quarantine centre in Sheikhpura, Bihar, twelve migrants, including two women fell critically ill after having dinner there, The Week reported.

In Bihar’s Madhepura, nine migrants were booked under Section 188 of the IPC after they allegedly changed their quarantine centre without the consent of local authorities. They had complained that the quarantine center they were kept at lacked basic facilities like water and electricity, ANI reported.

Returnee migrant labourers lodged at the Dhubri River Port mass quarantine centre in Assam protested that they were given only food and not provided any items of daily use, The Telegraph India reported.

In Chhattisgarh, three girls, including two infants died in three separate quarantine centers across the State. Officials said that two of the deaths of an 18-month old and three-month-old caused due to asphyxiation while the children were being fed. A four-month old who passed away too was said to be ‘severely malnourished’, The Indian Express reported.

In another incident, around 33 people at the quarantine center in Beswargaon Nursing Training Centre in Kokrajhar, Assam, tried to flee alleging lack of facilities, East Mojo reported.

Sabrang India’s findings

In light of these reports, Sabrang India spoke to various migrants who have now safely returned home and are in / have been discharged from various quarantine centers across the country. This is what they had to say.

Parmanand Rana from Odisha who was in a quarantine centre in Balangir district said, “We were about 40 people quarantined in a school in the village. There were three bathrooms, but two were dirty, so we used to use only one. We were provided with beds and food. We got food – rice, dal and a vegetable, twice a day – lunch at 12 noon and dinner and around 8 PM. We were also provided breakfast in the morning and tea between meals. The centre is quite clean, though there are no dustbins. At the start, there was a lot of problem regarding water. There was no water to wash hands or to drink. We didn’t even have sanitizers. No doctors visit regularly, but our Covid-19 test has been done and we are now waiting for our results.”

A migrant from Jharkhand requesting anonymity said, “I was sent to a quarantine centre in Barkagaon in Jharkhand when I returned from Mumbai. We were all from one village and were 32 of us. We didn’t face any problem at the quarantine centre at all. The centre was huge and there was space for recreation as well. The beds, food, mosquito nets, etc. all in place when we went there.”

On the condition of anonymity, another migrant from West Bengal’s Birbhum district told us, “When I returned from Mumbai, I went to the police station in the village. The quarantine center there was full and we did wait there for two days. There were some delays in food getting delivered to us and so we a group of 10 – 12 of us volunteered to quarantine at a school in the village. There, however, we had to make our own arrangements for food and other facilities as the government couldn’t provide it to us. The school was cleaned by the villagers and handed over to us and thereafter for 14 days, we maintained the cleanliness in the premises. We have no issues with the government because we know it is trying its best. There were a lot of people who came to the state in the past few days and the government was trying to provide for everybody. Plus, Cyclone Amphan made matters worse. It is still raining continuously here and that is why the delays took place at the start.”

Laxman Prasad from Jharkhand said, “I spent only two days at the government quarantine center. The doctor conducted check-ups and declared us healthy. At the start there were some lapses in the facilities. We weren’t getting proper food at the center at the start due to the number of people there. Hence, we requested for home quarantine and were granted permission for the same.”

A migrant from Odisha who completed his mandatory 14-quarantine at the Biripali Panchayat High School in the Biripali village, said“We were 20 people at the quarantine center. The government has provided us everything through the Panchayat. There are 4 toilets and the facility is clean and well maintained. We’re provided two meals, apart from breakfast and snacks. The mukhiya of the village has made arrangements for the cleaning of the facility. We didn’t face any problem at the center.”

In March, there were a litany of complaints against civic-run Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai which was the first isolation facility in Mumbai where patients complained of filthy conditions, broken and soiled bathrooms and no water. At the time, BMC Chief Pravin Pardeshi had told The Times of India, “We are revamping facilities at the hospital. It is mentally stressful to be alone in quarantine, so we are providing TV and magazines to patients to make them feel better.” The BMC also had plans to rope in a private agency to look after the cleaning requirements at the centre.

The same publication had reported about an Air India Pilot couple who had alleged that the Seven Hills Hospital where they were put in quarantine, wasn’t following WHO guidelines. They alleged that they were not asked basic questions about their health, there were no gloves, no sanitizers, no N95 or triple layer masks at the hospital and the whole area including the common washrooms was not disinfected. At the time, a doctor of the hospital had said that the couple could’ve chosen to stay in a hotel-based quarantine instead of getting admitted to a public facility. Dr. Mohan Joshi, in-charge of Seven Hills, said that people in quarantine didn’t need to be attended to regularly, as they were asymptomatic. He had told TOI, “Regular monitoring is done for patients in isolation who have symptoms.”

Centre’s guidelines for quarantine

According to the guidelines for quarantine facilities issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, each facility must have:

1.       Strategic entry and exit points to prevent and control infection in the facility

2.       Medical doctors and other health care staff needs to be available for routine examination

3.       Housekeeping staff should be made available

4.       Availability of security personnel should be ensured

5.       Rooms with an in house capacity of 5 to 10 beds

6.       Potable water

7.       Disposable and pre-packed food needs to be served to quarantine persons

8.       Personal toiletries/ towel/ blanket/ pillow with covers/electric kettle, room heater and water dispenser may be provided to each person depending on availability.

However, two months later, the problem still seems to persist. A most recent report by The Indian Express speaks about 53-year-old Deepak Hate, a constable, who passed away merely hours after being discharged from a Covid Care Centre (CCC) which is earmarked for asymptomatic carriers of the virus.

In the wake of these findings and reports, perhaps the state and central governments need to revisit their testing guidelines apart from conducting strict inspections of quarantine facilities across the country.

Related:

Migrant labourers from Bengal driven out of quarantine center in Odisha
SHOCKING! States ask incoming migrants to pay for institutional quarantine

The post Quarantine facilities across the country crumbling apart show findings appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The intense and heated courtroom exchange on May 28 in the suo moto petition regarding the migrant crisis culminated into an interim order, effectively giving directions to all the states on the handling of the crisis.

Since this was a suo moto petition, there were intervenors in the case represented by Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Colin Gonsalves and Indira Jaising and the Centre was represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

The concern was regarding the arrangement of transport for stranded migrants, arrangement of meals and water for them through the journey and for taking care of stranded migrants awaiting transportation.

About the payment of fare for transport, SG submitted that “the fare is borne either by the originating State or the receiving State as per their internal arrangement.  In any event, the migrant workers are not asked to bear the fare of the train or bus.” When it was brought to light that Bihar was reimbursing the migrants for the fare, the bench responded, “You’re the only state [Bihar] which seems to be reimbursing. The person should have money in their pocket in the first place. No #Migrant should be charged any fare. There has to be some arrangements between states about who bears the cost.”

The bench was still concerned about the payment of fare and asked, “What about states which reimburse? How is the migrant supposed to get reimbursement? Migrant won’t know which state has to pay or what transport is even available. There needs to be a uniform policy, else it will create confusion.” The bench further questioned, “How do you ensure that nobody asks them to pay or troubles them? What we are saying is that the #migrants should be least concerned with means of payment”. To this, SG replied saying the bench should wait for the states to file replies to get the complete picture.”

About provision of meals, SG submitted that “food and water are provided by the originating concerned State from where the migrant workers start their journey and when the journey is undertaken by railways, the railways provides the meal.”

Kapil Sibal, on behalf of intervenors submitted that minimum standards of relief, as provided under section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, have not been provided.  He further submitted that there is no National / State plan as provided under the Act; this was refuted by the SG. He also suggested that more train need to run so that more migrants can go back home. Indira Jaising concurred with this and said that number of trains need to be increased since the number of migrants is also quite large, about 4 crores. To this SG retorted, “You are instigating others to shift who don’t want to shift?”

SC is hearing its Suo Motu case pertaining to the problems & miseries of #MigrantLabourers who are stranded in different parts of the country due to the #lockdown

Titled “In Re: Problems & Miseries of Migrant Workers” , Top Court had taken cognisance of the issue on May 26.

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 28, 2020

The difficulty with online registration was also brought forth by Adv. Colin Gonsalves, “most of the migrant workers do not have smart phones and therefore they are not able to comply with so many technicalities which have been required for registration.”  He submitted that due to difficulty in registration, the migrant workers are suffering and they have to pay a huge sum.

The SG, Tushar Mehta, also went on sort of a rant calling out “prophets of doom” and “armchair intellectuals”, in this suo moto petition, who show no courtesy to the nation.

SG:
“All these people writing on social media, giving interviews cannot even acknowledge what is being done.
state governments and ministers are working over night. They don’t even have the patriotism to acknowledge that.
Human race is facing most difficult challenge”

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 28, 2020

“Those who come before your Lordships, let them establish their credentials. They earn in crores. Have they spent a penny? People are feeding people on the streets. Had any of them cared to come out of their AC offices?”
– Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submits vehemently

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 28, 2020

He also mentioned, “Some High Courts are running a parallel government”, pulling a jibe at High Courts indulging in much needed judicial activism and exercising continuous mandamus to ensure that proper measures are put in place and benefits reach the people concerned.

While taking cognizance of the issue on May 26, the Court had said, “Although the Government of India and the State Governments have taken measures yet there have been inadequacies and certain lapses,” and stressed on the importance of “effective concentrated efforts” in order to redeem the situation. It asked the Centre and all states governments as well as Union Territories to bring in the notice of the Court all measures and steps taken by the Government of India and to be taken in this regard on the next date, fixed at May 28.

On May 28, the Court issued a slew of directions after giving a disclaimer, “Although there is no doubt that the concerned State Governments / Union Territories are taking steps to do the needful but there are several difficulties and lapses which are being noticed in the process of registration, transportation and in providing water, food, shelter to these migrant workers.” The directions are as follows:

1. No fare either by train or by bus shall be charged from any migrant workers and instead the same to be borne by states

2. Stranded migrants be provided food free of cost by the host state

3. At the beginning of the journey, originating states will provide meal and water and during the journey, Railways will provide the same. Food and water should be provided in buses as well, by the originating state.

4. Simplify and speed up registration process for migrants and provide help desks where migrants are stranded and ensure they are provided transportation at the earliest.

5. Migrants found walking shall be provided with transportation and meals and water by concerned state

6. The receiving state shall provide transport, health screening and other facilities free of cost.

The case will be heard on June 5, when Centre and states will file their affidavit in reply. The court has asked for details regarding the number of migrant workers, the plan to transport them to their destination, the mechanism of registration and so on in the responses to be submitted by centre and state governments.

The complete order can be read here.

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The Supreme Court has, in an unexpected intervention on Tuesday, May 26,  taken suo moto cognizance of the glaring migrant crisis in the country. The Supreme Court, taking note of the many media reports showing the unfortunate and miserable conditions of migrant labourers walking on foot and bicycles covering long distances, has sought some answers from the government.

This move comes after several brush offs on the issue from the highest court. On May 15, Justices L Nageswara Rao and SK Kaul had dismissed an an application seeking urgent directions to all District Magistrates to identify the walking labourers and to ensure that they reach their homes, free of cost and in a dignified manner. In a much commented upon order, the judges had remarked that “we cannot stop migrants from walking hundreds of kilometres to their homes!” This reluctance of the court to step in and protect the fundamnetal rights of vast numbers of Indians had invited widespread criticism from former Supreme Court judges, senior advocates and other respected members of the legal fraternity.

On May 26, while finally taking cognisance of the issue, the court said it has been receiving letters from different sections of society highlighting the problem of migrant labourers. The Court said, “Although the Government of India and the State Governments have taken measures yet there have been inadequacies and certain lapses,” and stressed on the importance of “effective concentrated efforts” in order to redeem the situation. The court has directed both the Centre and state governments to provide adequate transport arrangement, food and shelters free of cost to these stranded migrant labourers.

The bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, SK Kaul and MR Shah has issued notice to the Centre and all states governments as well as Union Territories and has asked the Centre to “bring  to he notice of the Court all measures and steps taken by the Government of India and to be taken in this regard”. This suo moto cognizance by the Supreme Court re-opens a pressing issue that had been closed by the Court over past weeks. The case which has been titled “In RE: Problems and Miseries of migrant labourers” has been listed for next hearing on May 28.

The Supreme Court order can be read here.

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The post SC takes suo motu cognisance of migrant crisis appeared first on SabrangIndia.

More than 40 days after the lockdown, the government of India finally made arrangements for the return of migrant workers back to their home states. Even then, this process was showing unpreparedness after the Centre charged exorbitant amounts for bus and train tickets from migrants who were surviving on dole outs from the state and civil society. In the 40 days of the lockdown starting March 25, reports of many migrants being harassed, having apathetic treatment being meted out to them and of them passing away as they made desperate attempts to get back home. Migrant deaths have also been reported in road accidents.

And even now, there seems to be no respite for them.

1.       Last Saturday, a bus carrying migrant Odia workers from Surat met with an accident late evening in southern Odisha, killing at least one person and seriously injuring another, reported The Indian Express. The bus was reportedly carrying around 70 passengers and swerved off the road at Kalinga Ghati in Kandhamal district while it was en route to Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district. Around 40 people sustained minor injuries in the incident.

2.       In another incident, a 40-year-old migrant worker, Raju Sahani, suspected to be cycling to his home state, Uttar Pradesh, died on his way near Karjan in Vadodara on Monday. A passerby who found him unconscious on the roadside informed the police who took him to the hospital where was declared brought dead.

The Indian Express reported that the police recovered a bag full of clothes and his cycle from where he was found. A police officer said, “He worked at a private firm in Ankleshwar and had cycled from Ankleshwar till here. But we cannot say for sure whether he was travelling back to his native town all the way to UP or to Vadodara from where trains to UP have commenced.” He added, “We found his Aadhaar card and a bag full of clothes. We have informed his family members. He has a brother who also stays in Ankleshwar. Once he reaches here, we will conduct the postmortem and hand over the body to the family. After the autopsy, we can confirm whether he died of exhaustion or any other reason.”

3.       Ranveer Singh, a migrant worker who decided to walk back 308 kms to his village in Madhya Pradesh from Delhi after he lost his job to Covid-19 there, died on his way home. He had covered 200 kms and was 80 kms short of his destination when he passed away due to a heart attack, reported Gulf News. According to Singh’s family, he had gone to Delhi due to financial obligations. The family had loans that needed to be repaid. In his final phone call with Pinky, Singh said that he was feeling pain in his chest, and wanted to rest. His last words were: “Please come and take me back, if you can.”

4.       In April, 29-year-old Gangamma, a construction labourer in Ballari, who was on her way home to Raichur after having covered over 300 kms on foot from Bengaluru, passed away, allegedly due to starvation and negligence at the quarantine shelter, reported The Times of India. While her family alleged the above, doctors at the Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS, said she had been suffering from a chronic kidney ailment and hepatitis-B which resulted in her death. Her husband had left before her and reached their home, but Gangamma and others only decided to return once money started running out. She had reached the Ballari border on April 1 by foot and was first stationed in a quarantine shelter at the Ballari border. She fell ill soon after and was taken to VIMS on April 5. Her husband demanded compensation, alleging that the shelter staff didn’t respond to her deteriorating condition in time.

5.       In Jaipur, migrant workers who returned from the bordering districts of Gujarat were facing harassment by locals, The Times of India reported. There have been reports of migrants not been allowed to spend their 14-day quarantine period at home by locals, a problem which is making it difficult for the administration to accommodate people at government facilities. For example, the erstwhile rulers of Bassi town in Chittorgarh hae made arrangements for food, water and other facilities for migrants but they have made a rule not to allow any migrant in until they serve the isolation period at a government school located in an isolated place.

6.       A migrant couple from Uttar Pradesh was evicted by their landlord in Ahmedabad’s Rabari Colony in Amraiwadi, reported The Times of India. Ajaykumar Jatav and his wife Shaku rushed to the district collector’s office in a bid to secure tickets to get back home. They aren’t only worried about completing government procedures but also do not know how they will manage to arrange for their tickets and food. “We worked at a furnace and moulded iron rods. Jointly, we earned Rs. 500 per day to survive. When the lockdown was imposed, we were told not to come to work,” Ajay said. When the landlord came to know they’d lost their jobs, he enquired if they would be able to pay him monthly rent of Rs. 3,000; something which he knew they weren’t in a position to. Seeing this, he warned them to leave his premises and threatened to hurt them in case they didn’t leave. The Jatavs are now trying to wrap their heads around the complicated procedure of registering to get back home.

7.       Locals in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam strongly resisted the entry of the 200 migrants who were brought back home after they were stranded in Tamil Nadu due to the lockdown. “They are all construction workers and fishermen who were held up in Chennai for the last two months. Though many of them belong to the same village, the locals did not allow them to be amidst us, unless they undergo quarantine for two weeks,” Srikakulam collector J Nivas told Hindustan Times.
 
The authorities did try to explain that the returnees had all tested negative for Covid-19, but the villagers were not convinced. The arguments led to clashes and the police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the angry villagers. The Srikakulam people had probably become cautious after the first three cases appeared there on April 25. However, the situation was resolved soon and the migrants were allowed to quarantine in a local school.

8.       Vavilapalli Lakshmi, a maid servant, who had gone to her relatives’ place in Raighad on March 22 and got stuck there because of the sudden announcement of lockdown, suffered the same fate as other migrants returning home to Srikakulam. The Hindustan Times reported that she started on foot from Raighad and after four days of marathon walk, she reached her house at Gujarathipet colony in Srikakulam town. However, the villagers didn’t allow her to enter her house though she showed them a medical certificate which said she didn’t have the coronavirus. At the insistence of the villagers, she underwent the Covid-19 test again and tested negative again. Still, they refused her entry and forced her to quarantine for 14 days. The hapless woman took shelter in the gram panchayat office and on Thursday, April 30, the local officials escorted her and left her at her home.

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Rajasthan government has decided to make arrangement for passage of migrant workers to and from Rajasthan, in a phased manner. Ashok Gehlot, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, has said that he wants to send all migrants safely back to their native states after he receives the support from leaders of other states.

On April 25, Gehlot tweeted from his official account saying, “Since Day one I have been saying a strategy must be devised for a smooth movement of migrant workers stranded across the country, but unfortunately there is no clarity on the same.” He added, “Planned strategy with unified command structure of communication to the states can be more fruitful instead of Un-officially communicating to different states by different officers such as MHA and Cabinet secretariat to facilitate movement of Students and Migrant workers.”

Since Day one I have been saying a strategy must be devised for a smooth movement of migrant workers stranded across the country, but unfortunately there is no clarity on the same.
2/

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) April 25, 2020

Planned strategy with unified command structure of communication to the states can be more fruitful instead of Un-officially communicating to different states by different officers such as MHA and Cabinet secretariat to facilitate movement of Students and Migrant workers
3/

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) April 25, 2020

The Chief Secretary of the state said that he was coordinating wit his counterparts in other states to ensure the safe passage of migrants.

This explains the notification issued by the Zilla Parishad, Barmer dated April 25 which asks Panchayat Samitis to make a list of all such migrant labours who wish to come back to their native places in Barmer.

The notification may be read here:

There is a registration process that has been brought in place whereby migrant workers hailing from Rajasthan are required to register on emitra.rajasthan.gov.in portal, e-mitra mobile app or e-mitra kiosk, or at helpline number 18001806127. All this while maintaining social distancing norms and ensuring sufficient arrangement of screening of incoming population, emphasized Gehlot.

Gehlot also appealed to villagers to inform the local administration about people coming from outside so quarantine rules can be enforced. He accepted that sending migrant labourers back home and getting their own migrant population back was a major challenge but following proper protocols and carrying out the exercise in a phased manner was the way out.

States like Uttar Pradesh have also started bringing their migrant population back. In UP, the first batch of 2224 workers arrived from Haryana and is set to bring 11,000 more such workers.

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After a migrant labourer Mahesh Jena’s trip of 1,700 km back home to Odisha from Maharashtra made the news, another labourer, a 45-year-old Jadav Gogoi made his way back home from Gujarat to Assam as he mostly walked over 2,800 kms over 25 days with Rs. 4,000 in his pocket.

Gogoi, originally from Gadharia village in Nagaon, Assam was working as a labourer in Gujarat’s Vapi. He started his journey home on March 27 and reached Raha in Nagaon district on Sunday, April 19, after hitchhiking and walking.

Media reports cited that he was robbed of his money and other valuables and survived by begging. He told the media that his last leg through Bihar was the most painful. He walked an entire stretch of 1,000 km upon reaching and reached Raha of Nagaon district where members of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) rescued him and got him admitted to the Bhogeswari Phukanani Civil Hospital in Nagaon.

“I started my journey on March 27. I sought help from the police and other government department authorities but they denied. I walked on foot from Bihar to reach here. I was forced to make this journey because of lockdown,” India Today reported Gogoi as saying. He also said that he dodged the police in various districts and hitchhiked on trucks often for a fee.

AJYCP local leader Dibyajit Hazarika told The New Indian Express they learnt about the man after he had called up his family from Ahatguri in Nagaon district by using someone’s phone.

“I am from the same village as him — Gadharia. When we learnt about his plight yesterday (Sunday), some of us, including actor Jitumoni Mahanta, went out in a vehicle in search of him. Finally at around 8 pm, we spotted him by the roadside near the toll gate at Raha. We took him to the Raha Police Station. Later, he was admitted to the hospital in Nagaon,” Hazarika said.  

Dr. J Ahmed of the hospital Gogoi is admitted at said, “It is natural that he will be tired. As he arrived from outside the state, we will send his samples to a laboratory for a COVID-19 test. We will put him in 14 days’ quarantine at the hospital or at his home, even if his lab reports turn out to be negative.”

(Sources – Sentinel Assam, The New Indian Express, India Today, The Hindu)

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After mainstream news media channels and some elements on social media started targeting minorities, solely attributing them for the Covid-19 outbreak and turning the issue into a communal pandemic, the ripple effect of the same is being felt by some of the most marginalized.

Migrant hawkers who work as daily wagers in the city, are already feeling the pinch due to the lockdown due to agricultural services being hit and supply being limited. Due to the lockdown, some prefer to order essentials online due to the scare of the infection and that already has revenues of such hawkers dwindling.

Add to this woe, is the racial profiling they have become the targets of after the insinuation of the media. In this regard, the Anand Parvat Daily Hawkers’ Association (APDHA) which is affiliated to the Workers’ Unity Centre, India (WUCI), has issued a press statement demanding strict action against those Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) which are profiling hawkers based on communal lines.

The press statement read, “It is unfortunate that the street hawkers are being identified along the lines of communal identities, as several RWAs in the capital, and across the country, have barred the street hawkers from entering the colonies and localities. APDHA strongly condemns the said action of RWAs who are in the time of Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, resorting to communal profiling of hawkers and preventing them from providing services to the common people.”

The association also criticized the new directive from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs which said that only those hawkers with ID cards and Certificates of Vending would be allowed to serve people. Signed by Mr. Lalit, a member of the executive committee of the association, the statement read, “This is discriminatory as earlier there was no such standing order. This would penalize not only the many hawkers who do not have ID cards or such certificates would be deprived of their livelihood, but the people would be greatly inconvenienced due to such discriminatory orders. APDHA also urges the state governments to implement measures to apprehend the persons spreading communal hatred during lockdown.”

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