Watch | Jharkhand CM: ‘Saddened by Centre's Cruelty Towards Migrants, Lack of Economic Plan'

Name: Watch | Jharkhand CM: ‘Saddened by Centres Cruelty Towards Migrants, Lack of Economic Plan - The Wire
Uploaded: 2020-05-06T22:36:00+05:30
Channel: The Wire
Description: Hemant Soren spoke of a lack of assistance from the Centre and how badly migrant workers from the state were treated in the wake of the lockdown. He said that Jharkhand is making plans to find employment for returning workers.

Hemant Soren spoke of a lack of assistance from the Centre and how badly migrant workers from the state were treated in the wake of the lockdown. He said that Jharkhand is making plans to find employment for returning workers.

Mitali Mukherjee

watch jharkhand cm ‘saddened by centre s cruelty towards migrants lack of economic plan

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren says the state expects to see at least five lakh migrant workers return to the state in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown that left them unemployed.

In an interview with Mitali Mukherjee for The Wire, The chief minister said it had been a double whammy for the people of Jharkhand with the COVID-19 outbreak on the one hand, and the inhumane treatment many faced in many states as a result of a shutdown in economic activity.

He also hit out at the Centre which, he said, had given no relief to the state for migrants’ train fare. Soren said given the economic condition of the state, the Centre must give Jharkhand a special package, although no financial aid had been announced yet for COVID-19.

The Jharkhand CM said GST had broken the back of a poor state like his, and there aren't many resources left.

Recent CMIE data pointed to a staggering 47% unemployment rate for the state – Soren said the state is now making plans to absorb and find employment for all the incoming migrants. A few rural schemes like Poto Ho Khel Vikas have already been announced and some urban employment generation schemes will also be formulated soon, he said.

Soren believes economic activities will take on a new shape in the state soon, and that it's likely that many migrant workers may not want to return to the urban pockets they were working in, given the treatment they faced.

This article went live on May sixth, two thousand twenty, at thirty-six minutes past ten at night.

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