At least five dozen persons are actively tracing the thousands of migrants from various States stranded in Andhra Pradesh. Working under the Hyderabad-based Rythu Swarajya Vedhika, many civil society groups have set up a helpline to reach out to the migrants stranded across the State.
Over 500 traced
Agricultural activist Kiran Kumar Vissa is among the leading activists running the ‘Corona Lockdown Helpline’ besides Kondal Reddy and Kavita Kurangti.
Set up on April 1, the helpline has been receiving grievances through phone number 9985833725 round the clock.
By April 16, at least 550 grievances have been attended to, offering the necessary support to the stranded migrants across the State.
Main tasks
"Our prime tasks are two - providing immediate support like food and shelter to the stranded migrants by roping in local associations or NGOs and passing on the data to the district and State-level nodal officers for further care, particularly food and other essentials, till the lockdown is lifted," says Mr. Kiran Kumar.
On April 2 alone, the helpline received 20 calls requiring food and essentials for the migrants stranded in Chittoor, Krishna, Prakasam, and North Andhra. A majority of these stranded migrants belong to the North Andhra region.
No records
"The movement of the migrant labour engaged in agriculture and industries normally never gets registered with the government, which makes tracing them difficult during such times." Kondal Reddy tells The Hindu.
