No Data On Migrants Death, Government To Parliament

A day after the Narendra Modi-led central government told the Parliament it had no record of the number of migrants who died or were injured during the national lockdown, the Union home ministry on Tuesday said that the migration had been triggered by “fake news” which caused panic.

In the session - the first since the countrywide lockdown was imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic -- the ministry was asked whether the government has any data on migrant workers who returned to their states.

The ministry's response came to a question raised in the Lok Sabha seeking information on whether the Centre had compensated or provided any economic assistance to the families of the (migrant) workers who lost their lives while trying to reach their native places amid the coronavirus lockdown.

"No such data is maintained. The question does not arise in view of the above," Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar informed Lok Sabha in a written reply.

A nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

There was an exodus of a large number of migrant workers to their native places from different parts of the country during the lockdown. The lockdown restrictions were eased from late May.