ABSTRACT
Nothing has shaken the conscience of the nation coping with COVID-19 as much as the plight of millions of its migrant workers setting off on cross-country journeys with children and the aged in tow. In fact, there were reports of journeys—from Surat in Gujarat to Siwan in Bihar, for instance—taking up to nine days. A loco pilot who steered a Shramik Special train from Bengaluru heading to a destination in northeastern India told Frontline that there were virtually no arrangements for food and water on the long journey. The initial “rules” for deciding the routes and schedules for the Shramik Specials left them to be decided by the originating and destination States. However, through an innocuous amendment to the rules framed under the auspices of the National Disaster Management Authority, which has choreographed the lockdown, the requirement of consent from the destination State was dropped.
