Supreme Court directs states to provide information on migrant children & their condition

Amid the unprecedented crisis brought by COVID-19, migrant workers are again struggling to survive during the pandemic. A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court by the Child Rights Trust and a Bengaluru resident seeking directions for the protection of the fundamental rights of migrant children amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In this plea, a bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian asked all the states to be impleaded as parties in the case and mandated replies from them. 

On Tuesday, the top court directed the states to map, enumerate and register the number of infants and children of migrant families at various work sites and centres of concentration of migrant families with the help of local authorities at the panchayat and ward offices through frontline workers. The Supreme Court's plea said, "the unprecedented lockdown, ensuing migrant crisis and the subsequent effect of the same on migrant children and their fundamental and human rights is conspicuous and an ongoing crisis." 

Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Jayna Kothari brought to light how there exists marked efforts by respondents to provide migrant workers with welfare measure however, there has been no report issued by both the Central or the State governments detailing relief measures extended to women and children who are stranded or in relief camps and quarantine centres at source districts.

This endeavour by the Supreme Court is to prevent the pandemic from having a discriminatory impact on migrant workers and their children who are most vulnerable in such times of adversities. 

Migrant movement seen amid lockdown talks

In the wake Covid-19 crisis and talks over a lockdown in Maharashtra, the number of motorcycles, black-and-yellow mini trucks and autorickshaws, swarming with migrants, have been on the rise over the past few days on a bypass road connected to this route, popularly known as Mumbai-Agra road, eye-witnesses said on Sunday. Last year, certain routes witnessed thick traffic as migrant workers were trying to escape the ever-multiplying coronavirus - induced lockdown in cities and adjoining areas which made their way home states in some of the most helpless and trying travel conditions.

With plenty of trains heading towards Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from the LTT, a huge crowd of migrant workers was also seen at the railway station on Tuesday. As cases continue to surge across Maharashtra and tighter restrictions in place, migrant workers have already started leaving the financial capital to avoid being stuck like last year when the nationwide lockdown was announced. 

(Inputs from PTI)