Raipur ( thestates.news ) For the past few months, our country is fighting an unknown enemy COVID-19 but due to collective efforts taken by the government and the citizens, we have successfully stopped the virus from affecting our country in a worst manner as it did to several advanced economies of the world. But once again, this virus has exposed India’s deep economic divide. The nationwide lockdown intended to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19 that had infected multitudes worldwide was a very necessary step, however, it came at a cost and led to an exodus and created chaos, uncertainty among the working poor who came to Indian cities from villages to earn livelihoods. While the decision of the Union Government to run special trains to rescue the distressed migrant workers is to be welcomed, we propose that apart from buses and trains, flights too be allowed to ferry the migrant workers back to the States, while the payment to the airlines for chartering their air-crafts should be completely borne by the Union or the State Government. It is pertinent to mention that not a single paisa must be borne by the migrant workers who, for no fault of theirs, are suffering from this pandemic.
This proposal shall entail the following benefits to the economy:
1. The money paid to the airlines shall shore up their cash flows and will help them stay afloat for a longer period.2. Moving Migrant workers from those states which are more than 1000 km from home state by train can be quite time consuming. Airlifting shall be more convenient for the migrant workers.3. It is easier to screen the workers at airports, which are located at some distance from the city centre, in contrast to the Railway Station, which is the city centre.4. The workers shall be protected from high loo and nautapa, which can adversely affect their health in this hot summer with temperature already soaring as high as 42 degrees and expected to rise even higher.5. Its shall be easier for police personnel at the airport to maintain social distancing since there are lesser number of workers to deal with per aircraft arrival. In contrast, in case of trains, with 1000 workers arriving per train arrival, it puts quite a strain on authorities managing social distancing and quarantining.The poor migrant workers are mostly employed in informal sectors and constitute about 89% of the total workforce, contributing more than 50% in Indian GDP. The country’s infrastructure is built on the backs of these migrant workers. These migrant workers deserve special facilities to be arranged for them to go back to their village, to their families and government should take full responsibilities for this arrangement without charging a single penny from these workers. Hope you will take this into instant notice and give directions to the concerned authorities to take immediate action on this matter.
