City Biz Revival Suffering From Migration Migraine

Malls, restaurants open today but smooth ops likely to be impaired due to vanishing workforce. Several industries, hamstrung because of the exodus, are forced to deploy non-skilled labour

- Ajay Kumar and Abhishek Anand

Tens of thousands of migrant workers, left jobless in the lockdown imposed to halt the Covid-19 spread, have been boarding trains and buses to their native places for survival.

And even when several sectors are now being gradually re-opened by easing strict restrictions, the migration migraine continues, leaving DelhiNCR reeling under a huge shortage of workforce.

The crisis is expected to deepen from today when nearly 50 shopping malls and hundreds of restaurants, which remained shut for more than two months, will reopen.

This will happen in DelhiNCR’s all non-containment zones in accordance with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines called “Unlock 1”.

Malls as well as places of worship will, however, remain shut in Gurugram and Faridabad due to rising Covid-19 cases.

THE EXODUS

A rough estimate by traders’ bodies says that nearly 70% of the National Capital’s workforce has left. As many as 3 lakh migrant workers have been sent home on 250 Shramik Special trains since the last month, according to Delhi government figures. As many as 4.5 lakh workers had registered to be sent back home.

Traders said that workers who have left include those engaged in machine operations, transport services, housekeeping, packaging, construction and embroidery.

MSMES HIT HARDEST

The labour crisis has affected the region’s Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) the most. Many owners have not been able to resume work despite permission for staggered operations given in the May 18 lockdown 3.0 guidelines.