Modi highlights plight of migrant workers in ‘Mann Ki Baat’

India’s migrant workers were one of the groups that were affected badly due to the lockdown. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly radio program ‘Mann Ki Baat’ highlighted on this. Modi said that it has been disheartening to see plight of the thousands of migrant workers across India. He said that all classes of people had suffered due to the lockdown but migrant workers and the poor were worst affected.

Hundreds of migrant workers died while trying to return back to their homes during lockdown. Many of them walked thousands of kilometers in order to reach to the safety of their homes. Due to the nationwide lockdown that was announced on 24 May, all public transport was cut off. The central and state governments failed to reach out to migrant workers during time of need. It only made things worse for them. The government had received a lot of criticism for not doing a planned lockdown.

Thousands of workers lost their jobs and many families were starving. The ongoing lockdown in India has been extended to 30 June.

In the show, Modi also spoke about how the government has been able to control spread of Coronavirus. He added that major chunk of the economy is now active, but people must take all precautions.

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