With the entire city of Bengaluru under total lockdown, how far does one need to go to find food. With Indira canteens spaced at far places, many migrant workers from Bihar are desperate to return home.
An instant at Yelahanka has come to light in the midst of lockdown in the city. Eight migrant workers who came to the city from Bihar for construction work at a university in Yelahanka are now forced to seek help to get back home as there is no work, nor wages.
The middleman who brought them has already left them behind and returned home, while the university authorities have ignored their calls for help. With no access to food or cash, the migrant workers want to return home but stranded in the city with empty pockets even to buy a train ticket.
"Three months back, we came to the city to work as construction workers. One of the man from our village who was already working there at Reva university asked us to join him. We never met the contractor, nor do we have any identity cards as labourers. He used to pay us our wages. Now he has gone back to Bihar and we are stuck here. Work stopped two weeks back. We haven't been paid since then and are managing somehow but cannot go on like this," said Pankaj (name changed on request).
On May 11, the Karnataka government announced free meals thrice a day for the poor, labourers and migrant workers at Indira Canteens till May 24 during the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.
"To ease hardships that come with the strict restrictions, three free meals will be made available to the poor, migrants and workers in need, at Indira Canteens in Bengaluru and across the state till May 24," Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had stated on Twitter.
The government said Rs 25 crore out of Rs 300 crore has been released to the BBMP from the Natural Disaster Response Fund to be utilised for the purpose. But the ground reality is different.
"Yes, they have arranged for meals but these canteens are located at the other corner of the city. How do we go there three times a day to eat food?" asked Pankaj.
Indira canteens in Yelahanka
When IBTimes checked the availability of Indira Canteens in Yelahanka, Google Maps showed three such canteens — one in Yelahanka Old Town, Yelahanka Chowdeshwary Ward and Indira Canteen 04 in Satellite town. The closest one accessible to these workers taking shelter at the university premises is 5-km away. On foot, that is nearly an hour's walk.
Reports said the Karnataka High Court has asked the government to ensure food security for vulnerable people since certain categories of people have stopped receiving income due to the lockdown. The government had undertaken a similar scheme in the last lockdown in 2020 too.
Free meals
A report in Newsminute quoting BBMP officials said, "The beneficiaries who receive food packets at Indira Canteen should provide an identity card such as voter identification card/Aadhaar card/DL/labour department identity card to obtain the meals."
Last year the migrant workers eventually reached out to an NGO that had helped them during the "great exodus of the workers" amid the food crisis in the city.
Anushi Agarwal associated with Maraa, a media and arts collective that has been working with migrant workers in the city told International Business Times:
"There is no system in place to ensure that workers get ration or help during the period of lockdown. Again, they have been left on their own. Forget about ensuring Covid test or vaccine on time, they don't have money for food, rent or train tickets to go back home. Last year there was so much talk around the migrants and their sufferings. This year nobody seems to be concerned. Are we waiting for another crisis to hit us? For how long can the system evade its responsibility? How long will they have to struggle? What they deserve is the dignity of labour, not people's pity."
To help these eight workers, Anushi arranged for funds through donations and is in the process of booking their tickets to ensure their safe return to their homes in Bihar. Last week, Maraa was in news when it intervened on behalf of BBMP Pourakarmikas get their salaries that were unpaid for more than three months. A query to BBMP has not elicited any reply so far.
