Hyderabad: Migrants in distress, urge government for help

Hyderabad: The current scenario in the city has worsened the situation of common people, especially the poor and the homeless under which category fall migrant workers who are stuck in the city and are penniless. The plight of as many as 50 migrants from several states such as Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, who used to work for two hotels named Sri Krishna Grand in Langar Houz and Surabhi Hotel in Bandlaguda, are quite moving as they lack essential commodities and are not provided any help amidst the stringent lockdown conditions.

Explaining their agony, Venkat Reddy, in-charge of both the hotels, said, "Our owners opened these hotels three months back and around 50 workers were hired. However, due to the lockdown, we have been stuck here and are managing by cooking meals once in two days so that the stocks would last for more days. Our owners left for their hometown and the remaining stock would be over in the next few days."

When asked about where they were benefiting from any government schemes that were started to help the migrant workers in the state, the workers said that they were not informed about the 12 kg scheme nor were they aware of Rs 500 cash scheme. Till date, no one from the civic authorities has visited them to check on their conditions. Even though the workers have cell phones, they say they are left with no money to recharge. They say they're saving money to buy essentials. They are struggling to manage with minimum balance to keep informing their families about their day-to-day ordeals.

"We don't have any TV or any other medium to keep ourselves updated about the current situation. We were told by a few people that the rice scheme is only for those who hold ration cards. We have no knowledge about the 12 kg rice scheme by the government for migrant workers," said Ramesh (name changed), a worker at Sri Krishna Grand in Langar Houz. "We request the officials to help us with a minimum of essential for the workers to survive," added Venkat.