Villagers Step In To Help Migrant Workers And Teachers Give Classes Under A Bridge

As migrants return to their villages, residents extend a helping hand in Bengal, and a school in Kochi teaches children living under a bridge

V. Kumara Swamy Published Jun 10, 2020 13:53:15 IST

Villagers Step In To Help Migrant Workers And Teachers Give Classes Under A Bridge

Exodus of migrants (Photo used for representative purposes only. Courtesy: Pixabay)

Residents of three villages in West Bengal's Hooghly district came together to find jobs for 16 jobless migrant workers who had returned from Gujarat and Maharashtra after the nationwide lockdown was imposed.

The villagers of Kanpur, Badla and Chhilampur of Goghat I block in the district decided to raise funds and set up a poultry farm so that the workers can earn a livelihood.

Since finding land was a problem for the poultry farm, the villagers approached the local administration for help. They also launched a signature campaign to put pressure on the local administration to look into the issue.

The villagers said their move was inspired by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Matir Srishti project which aims to help jobless migrant workers set up orchards, fisheries and poultry farms. According to the latest reports, the administration is likely to give nod and allot a plot for the same.

The Telegraph quotes Mintu Maity, a migrant worker from Maharashtra, as saying that he wouldn't like to leave his village if he is able to earn enough. His dream may well come true.

Source: The Telegraph

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Classes under a bridge

Moved by the plight of schoolgoing migrant children living under a bridge in Kochi, the headmistress and a few other teachers of St. John Bosco's School started visiting them and teaching them what other privileged children of their age were learning through online classes.

The 11 children living under the bridge—three of them from class 7 and four from class 1—were going to a government school. But it all came to a halt when the lockdown was announced.

According to reports, the teachers download the online classes on their laptops and show the same to the children so that they can take notes. They also bring drawing sets, masks, biscuits and sweets to keep the kids engaged.

A Mathrubhumi report quotes the school’s headmistress, Elizabeth Fernandez, as saying that she and a few teachers of her school started visiting the kids after learning that they did not have access to online learning and were likely to discontinue studying.