The Union home ministry had issued an advisory to ban inter-state mobility of migrant workers while opening up certain economic activities in non-hotspot areas from 20 April 2020.
The migrants, rendered jobless and getting concentrated in slums and relief camps in and around a few large cities in states such as Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, have been provided facilities.
But these are highly inadequate. While requiring them to register with local authorities to “find out their suitability for various kinds of work" is welcome, for a majority of these migrants, covid-19 is a city affliction and an escape to their villages is a path to sanctuary.