Lockdown going to end soon: Delhi CM Kejriwal urges migrants not to leave city

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday appealed to migrant workers not to leave the city, saying the situation will revive once the lockdown is lifted and they will find work.

He also urged the workers trying to leave the national capital to stay wherever they were, assuring them that his government was arranging trains for their return.

"This lockdown is going to end soon, and everything will be back on track. You will get employed again because everything will start running again. Please do not leave Delhi," Kejriwal said.

He added that the Delhi government was in talks with the Centre to arrange trains for migrants who wanted to go back to their home states.

"I want to appeal to all to stay in Delhi. We are making arrangements to take you back to your homes. Leaving Delhi right now on your own can be very dangerous for you and your family," the chief minister said.

Meanwhile, around 150 migrants from Punjab, who were sheltered at a Delhi government facility in Nehru Vihar, left for their home state on Sunday morning.

"Migrants from Punjab living in Delhi government's temporary shelter at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Nehru Vihar left for their home towns today morning. They were screened by our medical team and provided with food, masks and sanitizer. God bless them all," the Chief Minister's Office said in a tweet.

Kejriwal said it was upsetting to see people walk on roads for days without food or any help.

"Migrant labourers are still on the roads, trying to get to their homes. They have not eaten anything for days, and nobody is helping them on their way. They are carrying their children on their shoulders, and I also saw a man who was carrying his old mother.

"This makes me feel that all the governments and the system have failed. I want to say to the people of Delhi that you do not need to worry. We will ensure proper arrangements for all the people from other states in Delhi who want to go back," the chief minister said.

The Delhi government has begun the process of sending migrant workers temporarily living at its shelters in the city back to their home states. Over 1,000 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh and 1,200 from Bihar were sent home through trains earlier this week.