'Ferry migrant workers to their states': Cong's Adhir Ranjan writes to PM amid lockdown

Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday wrote a letter to PM Narendra Modi asking him to help ferry stranded migrant labourers across the country back to their respective states. "Sir, may I suggest your good office to arrange ferrying these people to their homes or at least nearest point from where their respective States would assure them safe return to home," he wrote in his letter. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also added that he would recommend using special 'COVID protection Trains' for this purpose.

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'Social protection for migrant workers'

The 21-day pan India lockdown has been the hardest on daily wage earners and has led to a humanitarian crisis with thousands stranded across India without food or lodging facilities. Many state governments have come forward to arrange basic amenities for the daily wage earners including converting places like schools into shelter homes for them. 

The Health Ministry on Wednesday called for providing social protection to migrant workers, saying they are prone to social, psychological and emotional trauma in lockdown situations. Immediate concerns faced by such migrant workers relate to food, shelter, healthcare, fear of getting infected or spreading the infection, loss of wages, concerns about the family, anxiety and fear. 

Read: US White House Only Follows 19 Handles & 6 Are India-related; No Other Countries Involved!

Coronavirus in India 

The Coronavirus cases in India rose to 6,771 on Friday, out of which 228 people have died from the infection. Globally, 1,605,277 people have been infected, including 95,739 deaths. The US recorded the highest 468,566 cases in the world.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged people to download the 'Aarogya Setu' mobile application, saying it is a fantastic use of technology to combat coronavirus. "Tracks the spread of COVID-19 and notifies you if someone around you is suffering from it. "Also lists help-desk numbers of various states," the prime minister said in a series of tweets.

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(With Agency Inputs)