As the government hastily clamped a nationwide lockdown in March this year, millions of migrant workers from across the country were forced to return home. A sudden loss of livelihood had left them with no other option. It has been 6 months since. Where are they? How are they coping with their livelihood needs? What is being done for their rehabilitation?
These and several other related questions beg answers, which we sought from a panel of experts — Daniel Umi, director at Aide et Action, Dr Vanita Viswanath, chairperson of Ajeevika Bureau, Dr Gayathri Vasudevan, executive chairperson of Bengaluru-based LabourNet and Prof RB Bhagat of Mumbai-based International Institute of Population Sciences. Rajesh Mahapatra, founder director of @OdishaDialogues, moderated the discussion.