In the TEDxKanke Webinar Series titled ‘The Rise of a New World’, the speaker for the session on June 27 was IPS Seemant Kumar Singh, IGP, Karnataka while the talk was titled ‘Migrant in your own country: Humanitarian approach to a mega crisis’. The session was moderated by TEDx Kanke Curator Rajeev Gupta.
The series which began on May 2 is slated to have speakers from the fields of technology, innovation, leadership, creativity and art and culture of national and international acclaim. The sessions are being streamed live on the facebook page fb.me/tedxkanke20.
“The moment lockdown was imposed people started hoarding things. But there were also some people who did not have money or resources to be able to hoard in a similar manner– our migrant workers. It was on March 30 when the problems erupted. The press highlighted the inhumane manner in which people were migrating via national highways and this is when the police became active by providing food and ration along the highways for at least 21 days. We used attitude, technology and responsibility to meet the requirements of such a tedious task. Winning the trust of the migrants was of utmost importance,” said Singh.
“Public service without being approachable is not possible. The feedback we received was that we had to be approachable to make an impact. I received messages and phone calls on my number which also served as a helpline number. Random phone calls were received from various parts of the country. I got in touch with my batch mates to reach out to people and ensure that their needs were met,” added Singh.
“In the initial stages of the lockdown 90 percent of issues were around food. The other main issue was related to household rents. Donations received from all across the country enabled us to fulfill simple needs such as food. Local NGO’s also supported in various activities like distribution of food packets,” said the speaker.
“With no flights, trains and buses, family issues and other medical problems were a pressing issue for internal travel. In such cases, we hired taxis for people to translocate to as far as West Bengal and Bihar. We also organized people from these regions to come to Bangalore and cross subsidize the taxi fare for both journeys. Despite the challenges of state borders, there were several cases of bringing people to Bangalore and sending them outside. Friends in states like Jharkhand and Bihar helped to ensure success of such operations,” said Singh.
“When shramik trains were started, the police took charge of bringing the migrants to the station. Their registrations, food, medical aid was also done and it was ensured that there was stampede or chaos. Eventually around two lakh people were sent home via trains to Bihar and Jharkhand alone,” added Singh.