Kamal Nath pens letter to PM Narendra Modi seeking aid for migrants amid lockdown

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to help the migrant workers and students suffering due to the countrywide Coronavirus lockdown. In his letter, Kamal Nath said that labourers and students cannot be left in such poor conditions and called for prompt assistance. 

Kamal Nath noted that several migrant workers and students in Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the country have no means of living and are facing several challenges owing to the 21-day lockdown. Highlighting that the fear of COVID-19 is driving them to leave their workplace and travel to their hometowns, the former CM urged PM Narendra Modi to contact the state authorities and provide meals and shelter to these people who have come on the streets. He also suggested various steps in providing relief to the migrant workers.

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Here is Kamal Nath's letter to PM Modi

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SC asks Centre to prevent migration

The Supreme Court asked the Centre on Tuesday to prevent migration of people due to Coronavirus and set up within 24 hours, a portal for disseminating real-time information on the pandemic to counter the panic being spread through fake news.

"Panic will destroy more lives than the virus", the top court said and asked the Centre to get trained counsellors and community leaders of all faiths to calm down the migrants, who are kept in shelter homes across the country. It said these shelters should be run by volunteers and not the police, and there should be no use of force and intimidation. It asked the Centre to prevent migration of people and take care of their needs of food, shelter, nourishment, and medical aid.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao, which took up two PILs on the issue of migration through video conference, asked the Centre to look into the letter petitions filed by Kerala MP from Kasaragod constituency Rajmohan Unnithan and one filed by an MP from West Bengal on the issues related to Coronavirus.

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