Hundreds of migrant workers, chiefly from West Bengal, took to streets in Kerala’s Kottayam after a Jamaat-e-Islami backed local Malayalam news channel spread fear and panic after Delhi’s mass exodus.
Hundreds of migrant workers gathered at Payippadu town, in Kottayam, after the representatives of Media One, news channel backed by radical Islamist outfit Jamaat-e-Islami, reached the spot and instigated the people here.
Later, the police and district collector arrived at the place and dispersed the crowd. The incident is Kerala’s first mass violation of the nationwide lockdown. With a tally of 202, Kerala has one of the highest number of coronavirus patients in India.
According to the local residents, it was the media team which brought the migrant labourers to the streets for visuals. The I&B Ministry had issued a notice against the Media One channel for ‘promoting communal and anti-national attitude’ in its Delhi riots coverage.
According to reports, there are around 4,000-5,000 migrant workers in the area. The labourers gathered at the spot told media that they have been starving for the last many days as they were not supplied with adequate groceries. They also demanded immediate arrangements to go back to their native places.
“We will ensure you have roti, north Indian food, anything that you need. I’ll personally ensure this. Please don’t crowd like this, it is a huge risk,” district collector Jayadev told the crowd.
“None of them say they have a food shortage. They are demanding to return home, which is practically impossible. Both the state and the central directive is to stay wherever you are. They have heard that some northern states like Uttar Pradesh have made arrangements for migrants to return home, which has made them think that they can also return home,” the district collector told media.
The Kerala government in a Facebook post said an officer of the rank of principal secretary would be tasked to look after the migrant population. Kerala has an estimated 2.5 million migrant population.
Comments