M'rashtra lets 1 lakh cane workers go home

April 17, 2020 20:49

A group of migrants walk to their villages near the Delhi-UP border. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

The Maharashtra government has decided to allow over one lakh migrant sugarcane workers to return to their native villages amid the lockdown subject to the carrying out of medical tests in connection with the coronavirus outbreak, state Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde said on Friday.

A statement from the minister's office said 1.31 lakh sugarcane workers are living in temporary shelters provided in the premises of 38 sugarcane factories in the state, while several others are stuck elsewhere.

The lockdown, which has hit migrant workers hard due to the ban on movement and has resulted in sporadic outpouring of anger, is in force across the country till May 3.

Incidentally, the state government decision to allow migrant sugarcane workers to return to their native villages will entail a huge number of inter-district movements.

"Good news for my sugarcane worker brothers! You can return to your home (villages) now. The government has issued an order in this regard. Return to home staying within the rules laid down by the government. Take care of your health as well of your villages. Stay inside homes when you return there," Munde tweeted.

-- PTI

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