Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum demands immediate steps for well being of migrant labourers in Delhi

Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum (PMSF), an organisation of the undergraduate students, faculty members, resident doctors and scientists of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has urged the Delhi government to provide the migrant labourers stuck in Delhi with essentials and shelter too so that they don’t have to leave the city.

The pictures and videos of thousands of stranded migrant labourers trying hard to return home became viral on social media platforms after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day national lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.

In a press statement the PMSF has highlighted the plight of labourers and daily wagers who have been the worst affected by the lockdown which did not allow even 24 hours for preparations.

“The entire country is currently reeling under an unprecedented lockdown in the wake of the Corona virus pandemic. Needless to say, that this highly ill-prepared lockdown has caught the people totally unawares, causing immense suffering, especially to the poor. While getting on top of the COVID-19 pandemic to root it out completely is the expected dividend to be realized over the next few months, but the suffering that has visited the poor and among the most marginalized sections of the population has been immediate and torturous,” the PMSF statement says.

The forum of doctors and scientists has also mentioned the police brutality unleashed on these workers. To mitigate the sufferings of these workers, PMSF has demanded that the Delhi government should take some urgent steps:

• All migrant workers living in congested tenements in various parts of Delhi on rental should be accommodated in various public building like schools, colleges, community halls, stadia or by pitching in tents in large open areas in order to decongest their living conditions and ensure physical distancing.
  
• Running water, soap, provisioning of cooked food by maintaining community kitchens, providing masks and hand sanitizers etc should be done immediately.
  
• The Delhi government has announced that 7.5 kg of food grains shall be provided per person to the beneficiary families from PDS shops, 7 days a week. PMSF demands that the government should make arrangements for free home delivery of PDS rations and that apart from the staple food grains, the PDS rations must include cooking oil, lentils, soap and cooking fuel for non-ujjwala covered workers’ families.

The organisation has emphasized that ensuring food security to these vulnerable people is of utmost importance in the effort to stop the spread of the corona infection because the virus is known to attack a weak immunity system more quickly.