Fearing lockdown as Covid cases spike, migrant workers begin leaving Delhi

Amidst the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital, some of the migrant workers have started returning to their native places in fear of imposition of lockdown

Amidst the rising number of COVID cases in the national capital, some of the migrant workers have started returning to their native places in fear of imposition of lockdown.

Some alone, with backpacks, while some with their families, migrant workers can be seen leaving for their home at ISBT, Anand Vihar and other key transit points in the city.

With increasing COVID numbers the fear of imposition of lockdown has been making migrant workers anxious.

Gouri Shankar Sharma, who hails from Lucknow, told ANI, "The way COVID numbers are rising, there are chances of lockdown. There is no work. So I am leaving."

"The current situation, pushing Delhi towards another lockdown. I have no choice. I am leaving from home," Sunil Gupta, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly told ANI.

"The leaders do not have any problem. They travel in air-conditioned cars. If lockdown is imposed, the transportation will be closed. So I am leaving now," a migrant worker who was heading for Kanauj in Uttar Pradesh told ANI.

"The rate at which the cases are rising makes it obvious that lockdown would be imposed. That is why I am going home," a labourer told ANI.

The country had last year witnessed a major movement of migrants labourers and workers after the imposition of a nationwide lockdown in the last week of March.

The nationwide lockdown resulted in an exodus of migrant workers from cities to their native places.

Delhi reported 11,491 new COVID-19 cases and 72 related deaths on Monday. This is Delhi's highest single-day spike since the start of the pandemic.

According to the state health department, the infection tally in the national capital has gone up to 7,36,688 and a total of 11,355 fatalities due to the disease have been recorded so far. There are 38,095 active COVID-19 cases in Delhi.

The city's positivity rate stands at 12.44 per cent while the cumulative positivity rate is at 4.71 per cent.

In view of the rapidly rising cases, the Delhi government has imposed a night curfew in the national capital from 10 pm to 5 am on April 6 till April 30.