Kerala Steps Up For Migrant Workers; SFI Launches Campaign
Subin Dennis
There are heart-breaking reports from various parts of the country about the condition of migrant workers hit hard by the lockdown and economic distress triggered by the coronavirus outbreak.
Migrant workers of Kerala have also been adversely affected, and the Kerala government has been taking steps to alleviate their hardship right from the beginning. In his daily press conferences, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been repeatedly referring to the steps being taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the migrant workers (whom the state calls “guest workers”).
The Kerala government from the outset recognised that the accommodation facilities for the guest workers were mostly inadequate to ensure physical distancing. Therefore it was decided to set up camps for the workers, and to arrange for medical check-ups for them. Food also would be made available. Community kitchens have been set up for the purpose.
4603 camps have been opened for guest workers, and 1.44 lakh workers are already staying in such camps. To ensure hygiene, arrangements to ensure that masks, soap, and hand sanitisers are available in the camps have been made. More educational institutions will be taken over to set up camps.
To handle the affairs of the guest workers, an official will be specially entrusted at the state level. District Collectors will have the charge in districts. If there are problems anywhere, these officials can be contacted.
Leaflets, brochures and small videos to create awareness about the steps to prevent coronavirus infection are being circulated among the workers, in Hindi, Odiya, Bengali and so on. Health workers who can handle Hindi are being utilised for the awareness programme.
The government has also issued strict instructions that guest workers should not be evicted from their accommodation facilities by their landlords.
The Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Manipur, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had sent letters to the Kerala Chief Minister enquiring about the condition of guest workers in Kerala. Pinarayi Vijayan said that letters have been sent to them detailing the steps taken by the state government in this regard.
Meanwhile, the Kerala State Committee of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has launched a campaign to circulate the messages of the state government and the Health Department among the guest workers, in Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil and Assamese languages.
The campaign is called “Mera Pyaare Changaayi” (“My dear friend” – with “my dear” in Hindi, and “friend” in Malayalam).
Below are posters released, in various languages, as part of the campaign:
Subin Dennis is a researcher at the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.
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