ABSTRACT
In the beginning phase of the pandemic, apart from morbidities and mortalities related to the novel Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the other issue that received attention was the imposition of lockdown and its spillovers. The livelihoods of many migrant workers, particularly from the state of Bihar, were impacted overnight at their ‘destination’, with limited opportunities and resources to provide socio-economic support, including means of transport to their ‘source’ native villages, with several socio-economic challenges for migrant families including children. Against this backdrop, this chapter seeks to understand the impact of the COVID-19-led lockdown on migrant labourers and their families in Bihar, exploring the imperatives to act and proposing policy recommendations. The study used primary data to understand the social, economic, and psychological impacts of lockdown. Recommendations span efforts to create a legal framework which empower migrants, strengthening data systems to visibilise the most vulnerable migrant families and build strong portable social services across health, nutrition, and education delivery system to effectively cover women and children on the move.
