In an answer to a question raised in the Lok Sabha earlier in March this year, the government had said that "the size of the migrant workforce can be estimated to be over 100 million 10 crore in 2016 in absolute terms." The number would have only grown since.

Many of these migrant workers came looking for work in some of India-s biggest cities, including Mumbai. In the last few months, lakhs of migrant workers have left the cities to go back to their villages due to the Covid-19 lockdown.