Delhi : Migrants in distress, 65 % haven’t received a meal, rations, says CPM Survey

• 29 percent of the migrants had no stock of rice.
• 51 percent had no stock of wheat flour.
• 52 percent of them had no stock of pulses.
• 54 percent of them had no stock of cooking oil.
• 65 percent of the migrants had not received any form of food support from the government.
• Among the 35 percent who received food support, 68 percent said the amount was inadequate.

Amid corona lockdown, these shocking revelations were brought out by a survey conducted by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its affiliate Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

The survey says that migrants stranded in Delhi after the lockdown, are in great distress and the AAP government is not providing adequate help.

The survey that was conducted among 8870 workers, concludes that most of the workers did not have ration cards or Aadhaar cards.

Many of the workers did not have enough money even to recharge their mobile phones, reads the survey report.

Stating that most of the migrants stranded in Delhi want to go home as they do not have money to savings to fall back on, the survey highlights an alarming situation gripping the capital city.

It further concluded that:

· 13 percent are self-employed with very fluctuating incomes.

· 91 percent of the migrants earn Rs. 15,000 or less than this per month.

· 27 percent of the workers could not send money to their families back home because their savings dried up.

Emphasizing that with such low incomes, the life of migrant workers in Delhi where the cost of living is very high has become more miserable. Besides, little ventilation, water scarcity, and poor sanitation put migrant’s life in danger.

Saying that strategy chalked out by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to help migrants is inadequate added that the Kejriwal govt is more “adept at talk than work on the ground”.