As plight of migrant workers remained in focus — they were given a chemical wash in the name of sanitisation in Bareilly and had one’s forehead branded in Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh — the Supreme Court on Monday sought a status report from the Centre by Tuesday on the measures taken in view of the large-scale exodus of labourers.
A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justice L Nageswara Rao, which took up two separate PILs filed by advocates Alakh Alok Srivastava and Rashmi Bansal, observed that the migration of labourers out of panic and fear was becoming a bigger problem than the coronavirus.
The court said it would not create more confusion by issuing directions on measures that the Government is already taking to deal with the issue. The court, which took up two separate PILs filed by advocates Alakh Alok Srivastava and Rashmi Bansal on the issue of migration of labourers through video-conferencing, said before passing any direction, it would like to wait for the status report from the Centre.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said the migration of labourers needs to be stopped to prevent the spread of the virus, and the Centre States concerned have taken the requisite steps to deal with it.
Meanwhile, in Bareilly several migrants, including women and children, complained of burning sensation in their eyes after being sprayed with the “disinfectant”. These people were assembled by the roadside and were sprayed with a claimed wash.
The apex child rights body NCPCR has demanded disciplinary and penal action against officials responsible for forcefully sanitising a group of migrants with “chemicals” in Uttar Pradesh.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has asked the Bareilly District Magistrate to submit a report in the matter within three days. “NCPCR has expressed serious view on this inhuman act. In view of the above incident, you are requested to get the matter inquired into urgently and issue necessary directions for immediate action thereby; ensuring adequate arrangements of basic essentials to the family members viz. provision of food, shelter and safety and wellbeing of these children of migrant workers during lockdown period,” according to the letter issued by the NCPCR. The body also demanded appropriate disciplinary and penal action against the officials who carried out the sanitising exercise.
Slamming the Uttar Pradesh Government for such insensitivity, former State Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said, “The spraying of chemicals on migrants to sanitise them has raised some questions. Has the World Health Organisation given any direction in this regard? How do you treat the burning sensation caused by the chemicals? What arrangements are there for people to change out of wet clothes? What alternatives are being provided for the food that gets wet due to the spraying?
On Sunday, a police sub-inspector decided to “shame” a migrant labourer by scribbling on his forehead - “I have violated lockdown, stay away from me”. Following public outrage, the authorities have decided to initiate action against the sub-inspector.