Coronavirus outbreak: Migrant crisis resurfaces after PM Modi's call on lockdown extension

New Delhi, Apr 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday advised to the people of India to strictly follow the lockdown measure in the coming days. During this time, several people revisited the horrors of March migrant crisis when people rendered jobless due to lockdown had started walking down the empty highways to reach their hometowns instead of starving in big cities.

Thousands of migrant people in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana came out on roads anticipating that the lockdown would come to an end and they would be able to get back to their families. But these migrant workers were either lathi-charged or forced to go back from where they came.

In Bandra West, Mumbai, as many as 3,000 daily wage workers had gathered near the railway station, where the police, with no other choice, had to baton charge them to disperse the crowd after methods of persuasion failed to do its job.

Similar incident took place in Thane district and Surat, Gujarat where the migrant workers were seen demanding transport arrangements to return to their native places.

However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray later appealed to people and requested them to stay where they are.

After this incident in Maharashtra and Gujarat, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also issued an appeal to the migrant workers in the national capital to follow the lockdown protocols. He also requested them not believe in any rumours which might tell them about the possibility of travel during the lockdown period.