7.2 lakh migrants have left so far, claims state govt data

Data does not take into account people leaving on foot or by private vehicles

More than 7.2 lakh people have so far left Maharashtra - most of them from Mumbai - ever since the announcement of the nationwide lockdown by the Centre, according to state government data. The historic exodus of workers will cripple key sectors/industries’ ability to return to normalcy once the lockdown is lifted, according to experts, who add that workers, especially those working in the informal segment of the economy, were left with no choice but to leave given the difficult situation they were faced with.

That is not all. The data (correct up to May 23) does not include reverse migration taking place within the state - Maharashtrian workers heading back to their hometowns from economic centres such as Mumbai. The figures include only those who are leaving for other states, mostly to the north of the country, that too through officially approved channels. It is difficult to establish the number of people who have left Mumbai on foot or by private vehicles - having failed to secure a seat in a train or bus.

More than 520 trains have so far left Mumbai carrying workers back to their home states. Most of them were heading to Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. More than 250 more trains are planned in the coming days.

Comrade Uday Bhat, general secretary, Maharashtra Rajya Sarva Shramik Mahasangh, said the real migration figure could be closer to 16 lakh. "The government is counting people who had come from other states. But a few lakh workers from Konkan, Marathwada and Khandesh come to Mumbai in search of work,” he said. The migration will hit the city’s hotel industry, bakeries, construction sites and largely the supply chains that deliver online purchases, he said.

“These are also trained manpower. Even unorganised sectors – maids, security guards and workers like plumbers, electricians – have left the city,” Bhat said.

Being consumers themselves, these workers are key to the growth of the economy, he said. “Their absence will hit the economy hard.”

Organisations helping migrants hope they will be back again. “The workers who have gone back are not fit for agriculture jobs or work under the national employment guarantee scheme. In order to sustain, there will be another migration within a month or so,” said Satish Tripathi, a former bureaucrat who runs Setu charitable trust. He said the state government should have made an effort to get the migrants to stay back.

“Instead of this whole painful exercise, the government could have retained them by offering food and shelter and counselling. There is no doubt that many sectors will be affected due to lack of manpower in the city,” he said.