The lockdown imposed in late March cost more than 10 million impoverished migrant workers their jobs in the cities. Before the pandemic lockdown, Ansari had a steady job at a garment factory in the industrial town of Manesar near New Delhi, earning $200 a month, he said. He was able to pay rent and send money to his wife and five children in a village in eastern Bihar state. As Ansari’s factory shut down, he joined a caravan of workers who walked several miles before jumping on to overcrowded flatbed trucks to get home. Unable to find work there, and digging himself deeper into debt, after restrictions were lifted Ansari joined the legions of workers returning to Manesar.

Source: Daily Sun October 02, 2020 03:00 UTC