Migrant workers from Bihar, West Bengal protest lockdown at Mumbai's Bandra Bus stand, lathicharged

New Delhi: Migrant labourers mostly from Bihar and West Bengal took to the streets in Mumbai on Tuesday (April 14, 2020) to protest against the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown extension in India.

The labourers in thousands gathered near the Bandra bus stand in Mumbai to show their disagreement with the nationwide extension till May 3 and demanded permission to return to their home states as they allege of facing problems in getting food, essential items amid the complete lockdown in the country. 

Pranay Ashok, DCP PRO, Mumbai Police said, "Around 1,500 people had gathered in Bandra to go to their homes, and while talking about the situation with the labourers, some of them got aggressive. For this, we had to use light force and the crowd was removed, now the situation is back to normal in the area."

The daily-wage workers have been the worst affected people due to the coronavirus crisis in the country. Their source of income has come to zero since March 24, when the Indians were restricted to their homes to maintain social distancing and stop the spread of the global pandemic. 

Even though there have been several arrangements by the official authorities and various NGOs to help the migrants during this crisis, the labourors want to go back to their native places and reunite with their families.

Maharashtra's Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray tweeted about the incident and said, "The current situation at Bandra Station, now dispersed or even the rioting in Surat is a result of the Union Govt not being able to take a call on arranging a way back home for migrant labour. They don’t want food or shelter, they want to go back home."

The son of present CM of Maharashtra also said, "Right from the day the trains have been shut down, the State had requested trains to run for 24 hours more so that migrant labour could go back home. CM Uddhav Thackeray Ji raised this issue in the PM- CM Video Conf as well requesting a roadmap for migrant labour to reach home"
 

Right from the day the trains have been shut down, the State had requested trains to run for 24 hours more so that migrant labour could go back home.
CM Uddhav Thackeray ji raised this issue in the PM- CM Video Conf as well requesting a roadmap for migrant labour to reach home — Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) April 14, 2020

He added, "A mutual road map set by Union Govt will largely help migrant labour to reach home from one state to another safely and efficiently. Time and again this issue has been raised with the centre."

"The law and order situation in Surat, Gujarat, largely has been seen as a similar situation and the feedback from all migrant labour camps is similar. Many are refusing to eat or stay in. Currently more than 6 lakh people are housed in various shelter camps across Maharashtra," said Aaditya Thackeray.

 

The law and order situation in Surat, Gujarat, largely has been seen as a similar situation and the feedback from all migrant labour camps is similar. Many are refusing to eat or stay in.
Currently more than 6 lakh people are housed in various shelter camps across Maha. — Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) April 14, 2020

Congressman Sanjay Nirupam also attacked the central government and said, "What is happening in Bandra had to happen. Because they are not getting food. They have been stopped from returning to thier villages. After all, how long will it be closed in the aviary? Government reliefs are just paper figures. How many people can any government feed free food and for how long? Is there no other option?"
 

बांद्रा में जो हो रहा है, वो होना ही था।
क्योंकि उन्हें खाने को मिल नहीं रहा है।
गांव लौटने से मना किया जा रहा है।
आखिर कबतक दड़बे में बंद रहेंगे ?
सरकारी राहत सिर्फ कागजी आंकड़े हैं।
कोई भी सरकार कितने लोगों को मुफ्त खाना खिला सकती है और कब तक ?
क्या कोई और विकल्प नहीं है ? — Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) April 14, 2020

Earlier on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation to announce the extension by 19 more days till May 3 to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The countrywide complete lockdown that was officially imposed on March 24 for three weeks was supposed to end today, but the PM's third address to the nation during the COVID-19 crisis, made it even longer for such labourers across India to go back to their native places.

As of 5 PM IST on Tuesday, India has reported over 10,815 COVID-19 positive cases and has seen around 353 deaths.