Lockdown 4, Day 1: Not Enough Trains, Workers Herded Into Stadiums

Lockdown 4 | “We will die of hunger. Government can kill us like this,” said a migrant worker.

On Day 1 of Lockdown 4, migrant workers keen to board ‘Shramik’ trains, were herded into stadiums by the Delhi government. Stuck in long lines, getting no clarity from the authorities, short of food and cash - some of them spoke to The Quint. 

(Image: Poonam Agarwal/The Quint)

Video Producer: Srishti Tyagi
Video Editor: Varun Sharma

Thousands of migrant workers, stranded at various Delhi state borders and at Delhi's main railway stations, were brought to Karnail Singh stadium in Central Delhi by Delhi Police on the first day (18 May) of lockdown 4. As migrant workers poured in, the stadium was filled to capacity by 11 am.

Media was not allowed to enter the stadium. But The Quint did manage to capture a few visuals of migrant workers inside the stadium. Close to noon (18 May) we saw a queue of migrant workers coming out of the stadium, the person leading the queue was holding a board for Uttar Pradesh. Even as these workers started boarding a bus, one of them said that he did not know where are they would be taking next.

When we checked with the driver of the bus, he said the workers were being shifted to another stadium since Karnail Singh stadium was full.

A senior official from the Central Delhi District Magistrate’s office told The Quint that arrangements were being made to send migrant workers to their homes on board Shramik trains. But offered no clarity on when.

While the migrant workers inside Karnail Singh stadium were hopeful of reaching home, several migrant workers waiting outside the stadium given up on hope. These migrant workers stuck outside were given no guidance by the police or administration.

Had we been home, we would have survived on salt and roti. This way, we will die of hunger. The government is killing us slowly like this. What’s the point of dying everyday? They might as well kill us once and for all.

Mohammed Alam, migrant worker in Delhi

Mohammed Alam said he will keep waiting outside the stadium till arrangements are made to send him, his wife and two children, back to their home in Bihar.

There were several migrant workers like Mohammed Alam outside the stadium, lost and clueless as to how to reach home. Most of them did not even know how many more days they will have to spend on the streets of Delhi.

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