67 Lakh Migrants Returned to 116 Districts During Lockdown: Report

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(Photo: Arun Dev/The Quint)

Since the COVID lockdown was imposed in March, more than 67 lakh migrants returned to 116 districts in six states from major cities. According to a report in The Indian Express, out of the 67 lakh, close to 44 lakh migrants returned to just 53 districts.

Preliminary data compiled by the Union Skill Development Ministry shows that with 23.6 lakh migrants returning to the state, Bihar topped the list of states with most incoming migrants. Uttar Pradesh followed with 17.48 lakh returning to the state in the past couple of months.

However, these numbers are not final.

The ministry is yet to receive the details of the migrants returned to West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, two major destinations for returning migrants. Also, more migrants are expected to return since the Supreme Court has directed the Centre and states to facilitate the return of migrants to their home states within the next 15 days.

Meanwhile, the data shows that two-thirds of the total returning migrants went to 53 districts. Out this, 15 districts recorded the return of over 1 lakh migrants, and out of these 15, eight were in Bihar. The other 38 districts reported the return of 50,000-1,00,000 migrants during the lockdown.

Sources told The Indian Express that the Skill Development Ministry has submitted a proposal to the prime minister to up-skill 3 lakh of these migrant workers with short-term programmes that will include training on new machines and awareness of health protocols.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)