5 lakh migrants register to leave Mumbai; 2 lakh of them from Dharavi

Of the 5 lakh migrants who have registered with Mumbai police to leave the city in Shramik Specials at least 130 lakh approximately 30 per cent are from Dharavi Local businessmen whose manufacturing units are shut since the lockdown say they do not expect their terrified workers to return for at least a yearWith Coronavirus cases in the slum increasing daily authorities say the number will continue to increase Shahu Nagar and Dharavi the two police stations in the area have received 55000 and 75000 applications respectivelyThe number of Coronavirus cases in Dharavi are rising People are panicking and want to leave said Veeresh Prabhu additional commissioner of police central regionAs per the last census there are 65 lakh people residing in Dharavi Officials said after factoring 35 lakh migrant workers there would be 10 lakh peopleHowever local activist Gulzar Khan who has been distributing food to the needy said that unofficially there are at least 15 lakh residents of whom six lakh are migrants As per my estimate around 40000 migrants have left walking or in trucks and tempos Khan saidWe will work in UPSad E Ali has been working for a garment manufacturing company for five years I used to earn R600 per day I dont remember how many times I slept without a meal I registered four days ago but there is no response Tomorrow I am leaving in a truck for Raibareli Uttar Pradesh Ali said He asked his family to send money for travelMigrants from Dharavi wait in Wadi Bandar to board a Shramik Special from CSMT Pic Suresh KarkeraAnother garment worker Mohammed Wahid a native of Prayagraj said he will look for a job in UP Paani ab sar ke upar chala gaya hai I have registered myself with Dharavi police but there has been no response for a week Aane wala samay bohot bhayanak hai Government is not doing anything for us Wahid saidThey wont return soonMoiuddin Shaikh manufactures bags in a small unit and has 25 workers all of whom have registered to return home Even if restrictions are relaxed Shaikh believes that his business wont pick up as it is not an essential commodity In the past two months Shaikh has suffered losses of around R4 lakh Initially there was food coming fairly regularly But now it has started trickling down Even if the lockdown lifts the workers are so terrified that they wont return for a year Shaikh saidYusuf Khan who runs a garment manufacturing unit said that his 40 workers started leaving even before the lockdown hit More than Coronavirus the workers are scared that they will die of hungerShahid Husain who has the largest leather manufacturing business in Dharavi said that they have started getting orders from overseas and want to resume work but there are no workers In the past one week some leather units resumed minimal work All my 10 workers have registered to go Though I provided for them during the lockdown they are scared So far there has been a loss of R6 lakh If business doesnt resume soon everything will collapseWill get more trainsAuthorities want more trains to send these migrants home Local MP Rahul Shewale said that there are around 25 lakh workers who want to leave The city police and BMC commissioner are working to send them home We want to have 10 daily Shramik Specials of which three to four would be for Dharavi residents Shewale saidWith the current number of daily Shramik Specials being five to seven we want to increase it to 10 to 11 said Deputy Commissioner of Police Pranaya Ashok Mumbai police spokespersonExpert speakThe Centre and State mishandled the situation The economy needs to run This has to be coordinated well between them With states having no money the best thing the Centre can do is give a chunk of the Rs 20 lakh crore package and let the states handle the problem Because you cannot manage everything from the central government Too much centralisation is why we are behind the curve economist Abhijit Sen saidCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news