COVID-19 Lockdown: Hunger Drives Migrant Workers To Scavenge For Bananas Near Cremation Ground In Delhi

Amid the extension of lockdown due to COVID-19, a few migrant workers were seen eating discarded bananas rotting in the sun on the banks of the river Yamuna in Delhi on April 15. The men picked through the trash searching for any good ones.

According to an NDTV report, the heartbreaking incident occurred at the Nigambodh Ghat, one of the main cremation grounds in Delhi. The bananas were possibly used in rituals for the dead. In the course of their search for an edible banana, the workers came across an occasional rotten roti.

"It is a banana... usually these don't go bad easily. If we pick well, they will last us a while," one of the men was quoted as saying while stuffing a bag. "We are not getting food regularly, so better to take these," said a migrant from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh.

Stranded Without Food And Shelter

Marooned by the sudden nationwide lockdown implemented to slow the transmission of COVID-19, Scores of migrant workers have taken shelter in the banks of Yamuna and are sleeping in the open.

Having lost their sources of income overnight, they were left to fend for themselves without food or shelter. Due to the lack of all public transport, they couldn't go home either.

At a time when social distancing was a mandate, hordes of migrants and daily wagers started a long walk to their home states. The state governments stepped in and lodged them in shelters.

One such shelter, burnt down on last Saturday when two inmates fought. 55-year-old Jagdish Kumar from Bareilly used to live there, he has since been sleeping on the ground, wherever he can hide from the cops.

"Today, we got food after two days, at a Gurdwara," Kumar said. As reports of their plight started coming up the Delhi government moved them to schools.

"We are taking them to shelters we have set up in schools," said Vipin Rai of the Delhi Urban Shelter Board.

Help From State Government

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday, April 15 said the Delhi government has directed to shift the people living in the open at the Yamuna Ghat to government shelter homes. Arrangements have been made to provide them with food and shelter.

The CM thanked the media for pointing out the matter and said there will be no shortage of accommodation and food for those gathered at Yamuna Ghat on Twitter.

In another tweet, Kejriwal said the government has been providing food to 10 lakh people every day and has given free-ration to 75 lakh beneficiaries.

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