International Labour Day: No signs for the next morsel of food for the daily wagers in Uttarakhand leaves them a stressed lot

GG News Bureau
Pithoragarh/ Dehradun,1st May. On one hand, the world is observing international labour day on May 1 while on the other, the daily wage labourers from the districts of the Kumaon region are migrating home and returning to their respective regions in Western UP, Bihar and parts of Nepal due to lack of continuity of work as they have no other means to support themselves and their families.
“We returned to Almora in November last year after the un-lockdown was announced, but as the situation has worsened in the second phase this time, we are bound to return our homes due to non-availability of work. “said Ravindra Prasad, a daily wage labourer from Motihari district of Bihar.
According to labourer organization sources over 8000 workers alone from the Lakhimpur Khiri district of UP have returned from the district amidst fear of another lockdown.
“The fear is that I might have to discontinue my studies due to lack of money as there is no sign of work these days,” said Rajkumar, a BTech student of RR Group of institutes in Lucknow, who is pursuing his education through Correspondence and earning money to feed himself by working as a labourer in Champawat.
According to Rajkumar, he had to resort to labour work in Champawat after his father Ramkilawan incurred heavy losses in his farming work due to disturbed weather conditions.
Sources from Bageshwar, Champawat Pithoragarh said that over 40 thousand labourers from various UP Bihar and Nepal districts are working in districts of Almora Pithoragarh, Champawat and Bageshwar and out of these over 12000 labourers have left for their homes.
“several of our villagers have returned to their homes while others are preparing to leave there as no work can be taken up after 2 pm in the district,” said Sita Devi, a Nepalese labourer in Pithoragarh.
“It is for the second and time that no labour day celebrations were organised in the region this year as well. “said Chanchal Ram a labourer union leader in Pithoragarh.
A similar condition prevails in the districts of the Garhwal where labourers are sitting idle with no work as most of the shops are shut after 2 pm. At Mussoorie. “Today is May Day that has been celebrated by the labourers across the town with fervour but from last year no celebrations have taken place due to the Covid 19 crisis”, said Ajit Kumar a daily wage worker in Mussoorie.
The labourers are worried that if the upward trend of the positive cases continues in the state it would be difficult to feed their families leaving them in a lurch.
We are like the children on a runaway train who have been abandoned by the government and the labour organisations that promised to safeguard the interests of the labourers said a group of migrants waiting to return to Jharkhand from Dehradun.