NEW DELHI: Despite the claims made by the Centre and various states on providing food and ration to the migrants, nearly 80 per cent of the workers still do not have access to ration provided by the government and food distress continues to be as high as in the first phase of the lockdown, revealed an analysis by Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN).
The analysis was based on 821 SOS calls made by over 5,900 migrant workers at the SWAN helpline between May 15 and June 1.
Over 55 per cent of the callers said they had no money or ration left and that they had skipped meals.
While 76 per cent said they had less than Rs 300 left with them, 72 per cent of the workers who had called said they had only Rs 200 left with them.
In the absence of any livelihood options, workers are also being pushed into a debt trap with 48 per cent workers who called the helpline having taken loans ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 and 30 per cent having taken loans of more than Rs 5,000 since the beginning of the lockdown.
With lack of cash, food and income, 55 per cent of those stranded wanted to go home immediately. A whopping 75 per cent of stranded workers said they had migrated for work but had no employment.
Among the interviewees who had reached home, 44 per cent said they had reached home after taking buses while 39 per cent took Shramik special trains.
While 11 per cent took trucks or other modes of transport, six per cent made it home on foot.
The woes of migrant workers captured by the SWAN survey range from eviction by house owners and employers to problems faced in seeking shelter and travel registration.
In several cases, workers reported no prior information about trains and lack of access to water and food in trains.