--Dear Friend/s,
Please find below a self-explanatory open letter - proposed to be sent, to the President of India.
Please endorse, with your full name, affiliation/designation (if any) and location indicated.
The endorsement may be sent to sengautam1947@gmail.com.
Gautam Sen
Arvind Ghosh
Sukla Sen
To
The President of India,
Rashtrapati Bhavan,
New Delhi - 110004.
Subject: The Desperate Plight of the Migrant Workers in the wake of COVID-19 Lockdown and Dire Need for Immediate Remedial Intervention
Respected Sir,
We, the udersigned, have come to learn via reports by various news media outlets, and other sources, that hundreds of thousands of migrant workers have, in the wake of the sudden enforcing of the nationwide lockdown, been desperately trying to return to their homes from their places of work and too many are stuck up in different states of India in extremely miserable conditions, without food and shelter.
Many more perhaps remain stuck up where they had already been, in broadly similar situations.
With the utterly menacing COVID-19 pandemic as the backdrop, this has given rise to a frightening scenario.
Reports have already appeared as regards tens of deaths out of hunger and exhaustion, and even road accident.
We, therefore, respectfully put forward the demand that these workers be treated with dignity and provided with food and adequate shelter wherever they are.
As per official claims, such arrangements have already been made.
But, reports from grounds underline the severe inadequacy of and large gaps in such arrangements, despite various grassroots and civil society organisations coming forward and playing even larger roles than the official machineries in a number of states.
Under the given circumstances, we recognise that it is the obligation of the respective state governments, duly backed up by the Central government, to provide for food, water, soap, medicine etc. and adequate shelters with toilet facilities - where the norms of physical distancing can be realistically followed, for the stuck up migrant workers.
We, therefore, further demand that each state government must, immediately, set up monitoring committees comprised of both official members, entrusted with the task of looking after, and members from the civil society organisations already engaged in relief work or with issues concerning migrant workers.
Various government and private buildings, as required, may be temporarily taken over for this purpose.
If necessary, temporary shelters must, additionally, be built.
We also demand that the families of these workers who are left behind in their home states must also be adequately taken care of, overseen by appropriate monitoring committees - constituted on the lines as sketched out above.
The same should, with necessary modifications, apply also to those who have, somehow, been able to reach back home but have, now, no means of livelihood.
These arrangements must continue till normalcy is restored.
This is required just not to save the lives of these toiling people, who used to meaningfully contribute to the running of the national economy till the very other day, but also to ensure success in halting or, at least, significantly slow down the constantly accelerating spread of the dreaded disease so that the healthcare infrastructure in place does not get overwhelmed and, thereby, a huge catastrophe is averted.
We, hereby, humbly request you to personally look into the matter and suitably advise both the Central government and the state governments so that these measures are implemented at the soonest.
Sincerely your
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Posted by: Xavier William <varekatx@gmail.com>
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