Lockdown Heroes: Away From Home, These Migrants Show Gratitude For The Care And Respect They Received

A government school in Haryana’s Ambala district is getting a facelift thanks to its temporary residents, the migrant workers, who have made it their home for more than a month now due to the lockdown following the coronavirus outbreak.

Soon after the nationwide lockdown was enforced on the midnight of 24 March, the district administration converted the government school at Kakkarmajra village in Naraingarh sub-division of Ambala district into a temporary shelter for the stranded migrant workers.

The district administration, The Tribune reported, has been taking care of the workers’ meals, recreation, counselling besides other basic amenities. The migrant labourers, in turn, wanted to do their bit.

They decided to help with carrying out minor repairs and painting the school. Another report in a Hindi daily said the labourers have also started growing vegetables in the school garden.

The newly-painted school, when it opens, will surely bring a smile on the faces of its students, thanks to the hard work of the school’s temporary residents.

Migrant coconut pluckers say ‘thanks’ with a donation

Kerala has been one of the most hospitable states for migrant labourers, even before the pandemic struck the country. Barring a few hiccups, the state, which calls migrant labourers ‘guest workers’, is running thousands of camps for them during the lockdown.

Kerala’s hospitality touched some coconut pickers from Chhattisgarh, so much so that they decided to contribute to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

According to a New Indian Express report, 43 employees of CompuTech, a private agency that provides coconut pluckers on demand, decided to contribute to the CM’s relief fund after their employer planned to donate a month’s pension. The firm donated Rs 78,000 to the CMDRF.

The cheques were handed over to Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

What is heartening to know is that these people went ahead with the contribution although they did not have work for the first 15 days of the lockdown. With the state partially lifting restrictions, most of them are now back to picking coconuts.