The “pathetic condition of migrant labourers is nothing but a human tragedy”, the Madras High Court said today in strongly-worded comments on the humanitarian crisis sparked by lakhs of migrants frantically trying to return to home states amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Pulling up both the centre and the Tamil Nadu government for failing to “care for their (the migrants) safety and well-being”, the court grilled the governments over measures being taken to address the situation and demanded to see state-wise data on the migrant crisis.
“It is a pity to see the migrant labourers walking for days together to reach their native places and in the process, some of them had lost their lives due to accidents. All states should have extended their human services to those migrant labourers,” Justices N Kirubakaran and R Hemalatha said.
“One cannot control his/her tears after seeing the pathetic condition of migrant labourers shown in the media for the last month. It is nothing but a human tragedy,” the court added.
Shorlty after the court’s critique, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami appealed to migrants to “stay put in camps” and let the government help them.
“We are coordinating with other states to send you back by trains. Stay put in camps till then. We are footing train fare and travel costs,” he said, adding that around 53,000 workers had been sent back to Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Bengal so far.
The Madras High Court had earlier taken suo moto cognisance and has given the centre and state till May 22 to respond to several searching questions about its handling of the crisis. The orders were passed over a petition regarding several hundred Tamil Nadu migrants stranded in Maharashtra.
The court asked the centre if there was any data regarding migrants in each state, pointing out that this would be invaluable in identifying them and helping them to get home.
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