Mamata Banerjee writes to CMs of 18 states urging them to provide food, shelter for stranded labourers from Bengal

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wrote to chief ministers of 18 states urging them to provide basic shelter, food and medical support to migrant labourers from Bengal to these states who could not return after the countrywide lockdown was announced.

The country-wide lockdown was imposed on March 24 midnight for 21 days as a measure to contain the spread of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Banerjee wrote in her letter to the chief ministers that the Bengal government authorities were receiving frantic calls from them and that these semi-skilled and unskilled labourers who could not travel back, were stuck in various states.

“Since it is not possible for us to reach any help to them, I take the opportunity to request you to kindly ask your administration to provide them with basic shelter, food and medical support during this period of crisis,” she wrote.
The CM said that such workers can be easily identified by respective state administrations as they are in groups of 50-100 and assured them that they would be provided with further, specific details.

Banerjee assured the CMs that workers from their states who could not go back to their home states amidst lockdown are also being looked after in Bengal.