The nationwide lockdown in India which started about 5 weeks ago has impacted around 40 million internal migrants’ livelihoods and the magnitude of internal migration is about two-and-a-half times that of international migration, says The World Bank Report ‘COVID-19 Crisis through a Migration Lens’.

Lockdowns, loss of employment, and social distancing prompted a chaotic and painful process of mass return for internal migrants in India and many countries in the world.Owing to Coronavirus pandemic in India, the desperate migrant workers have been trapped in lockdown. There had been rumours of train services restarting, and the workers had gathered defying rules of social distancing, putting themselves and others at risk.They demanded that authorities arrange transport to send them back to their hometowns and villages so they could be with their families. The police, instead, used sticks to disperse them.

In the western state of Gujarat, hundreds of textile workers protested in Surat city, demanding passage home. There was outrage in Delhi, when several hundred migrants were discovered living under a bridge along the Yamuna river strewn with garbage.

The above incidents have shone a spotlight the plight of millions of poor Indians who migrate from villages to cities in search of livelihood – and how the lockdown has left them stranded far away from home, with no jobs or money.Most moved from villages to work in the cities as domestic helpers, drivers and gardeners, or as daily-wagers on construction sites, building malls, flyovers and homes, or as street vendors.Whether living in shelters, sleeping on footpaths or under flyovers, the migrants are restless and are waiting for restrictions to be eased so they can go home.

The pandemic could exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities of the country’s refugees and internally displaced persons. Travel bans, closed borders and living conditions in camps all amplify the risks to migrants. This crisis is an opportunity for the country as well as the world to display empathy and solidarity with these groups.

It is right that our collective concerns are first and foremost for people who are at greater risk of dying from COVID-19. The Governments with the support hands of civil society sector, corporate and volunteers need to address the challenges facing internal migrants by including them in health services and cash transfer and other social programmes, and protecting them from discrimination.