Amidst the lockdown imposed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a mob had gathered in Mumbai's Bandra West. Reportedly, they were saying, "Give us food or let us go home." The mob was right outside Bandra Station, near the Bandra Sunni Jama Masjid.
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Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that the crowd has now been dispersed. He said that they were migrant labourers and wanted to go back home. The Environment Minister blamed the Central Government for not being able to take a call on arranging a way back home for migrant labourers.
In a series of tweets, Aaditya tweeted, "The current situation at Bandra Station, now dispersed or even the rioting in Surat is a result of the Union Govt not being able to take a call on arranging a way back home for migrant labour. They don’t want food or shelter, they want to go back home."
"Right from the day the trains have been shut down, the State had requested trains to run for 24 hours more so that migrant labour could go back home. CM Uddhav Thackeray ji raised this issue in the PM- CM Video Conf as well requesting a roadmap for migrant labour to reach home," he added.
Aaditya further said that a mutual road map set by the Union government will largely help migrant labour to reach home from one state to another safely and efficiently. "Time and again this issue has been raised with the centre," he said.
"The law and order situation in Surat, Gujarat, largely has been seen as a similar situation and the feedback from all migrant labour camps is similar. Many are refusing to eat or stay in," Aaditya tweeted.
He added that currently more than 6 lakh people are housed in various shelter camps across Maha.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday decided to extend the lockdown till May 3.
The total number of coronavirus positive cases in the country rose to 10,815 (including 9272 active cases, 1190 cured/discharged/migrated and 353 deaths), said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday evening.
In Mumbai alone, 204 positive cases and 11 deaths have been reported today (Tuesday). The total number of positive cases in Mumbai rose to 1753 (including 111 deaths), said Municipal Corporation Greater Mumbai.
