17 migrants died in Maharashtra after lockdown imposed: Govt

The government told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that 17 migrant workers lost their lives in Maharashtra after the imposition of the nationwide lockdown in March last year in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic

No loss of lives of migrant workers were reported from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, Nagaland, Manipur and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it said.

“No loss of lives of migrant workers are reported from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, Nagaland, Manipur & Andaman & Nicobar Islands except 17 accidental deaths in Maharashtra. Information from the remaining states/UTs is being collected,” Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply to a query on the number of migrant workers and their family members who died during and after the national lockdown between March to September last year.

“As per the information gathered, around one crore labourers returned to their home states from their workplace States. But, now most of them have gone back to work and are getting placement,” Gangwar said separately during Question Hour.

Noting that there are 10 crore labourers in the organised sector and 40 crore in the unorganised sector, Gangwar said the government is making efforts and running programmes to shift the workforce employed in the unorganised sector to organised sector.

“Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the government,” he said in a written reply to a starred question.

We are proud to announce that Jharkhand CM @HemantSorenJMM will be the Chief Guest of the discussion ‘Decoding India’s internal migration’ on February 12 at 2pm.

Register here to join: https://t.co/ngDRKfgS9T pic.twitter.com/7DLIk0HZju

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) February 9, 2021

The minister said the government has taken various steps for generating employment in the country , adding that the measures include various projects involving investment and increasing public expenditure on various schemes.