How a group of volunteers became the voice of migrants in lockdown

On May 26, the Supreme Court took suo motu, cognisance of the migrant crisis triggered by Covid-19 lockdown. It directed state governments not to charge travel fares and ensure that migrants were given food and water. Yet, in the midst of an unforgiving Indian summer and two cyclones, the dismal saga of their long march home continues. Their collective experience and stories of shared deprivation wouldn’t have been as visible if it weren’t for Stranded Workers Action Network or SWAN.

A group of volunteers associated with different campaigns and organisations that came together in the early days of the lockdown