India’s COVID-19 Lockdown & Migrant Crisis: A Timeline of the 2020 Exodus

The Supreme Court orders portal registration, dry ration and community kitchens Court or Parliament

In In Re: Problems and Miseries of Migrant Labourers, the Court disposed of the case with seven directions (judgment). The Centre was to develop a portal with the National Informatics Centre for registering unorganised and migrant workers, to start by 31 July 2021 and finish registration by 31 December 2021. States were to bring in a dry-ration scheme by 31 July 2021, with the Centre supplying extra foodgrains on demand, and to implement One Nation One Ration Card by the same date.

It also directed states to register establishments and license contractors under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, and to run community kitchens where migrant workers gather, for as long as the pandemic lasted.

What the page does not claim: AiTimeline did not verify whether every deadline was met. The orders show what the Court required, not what was delivered.

A parliamentary committee asks for a national plan and a migrant database Court or Parliament

The committee noted that the sudden lockdown caused unprecedented economic disruption and fear among migrant workers, leading to large-scale movement home. It recommended a national plan and guidelines under the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act, a mechanism to coordinate the Centre and states, a national database of migrant workers, and inter-state operability of ration cards (PRS Legislative Research summary).

It also asked the Home Ministry to create a coordinated way to track the movement of migrant workers across states in real time, so that states could provide rations.

A Lok Sabha answer: 1.06 crore workers returned, but no count of migrant road deaths Counts and accountability

Asked how many migrant workers died in road accidents, the Minister of State said that, per data compiled by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, more than 1.06 crore migrant workers, including those who travelled on foot, returned to their home states. The Ministry gave provisional figures of 81,385 road accidents and 29,415 fatalities across March to June 2020, and said it “does not maintain separate data in respect of migrant workers who have died in road accidents during the lockdown” (Lok Sabha answer).

Read the figures carefully: 29,415 is the provisional count of all road deaths in those four months. It is not a count of migrant workers. The brief for this page dated this answer to March 2021 and credited the Labour Ministry; the document itself is dated 22 September 2020 and was answered by the Road Transport Ministry, citing Labour Ministry data.

The Labour Ministry says it has no data on migrant deaths or job losses Counts and accountability

The Labour Ministry told the Lok Sabha it kept no data on migrant workers who died or lost jobs during the lockdown, so there was no question of compensation. It gave 1,04,66,152 as the number who returned to their states, with Uttar Pradesh receiving the most at 32.5 lakh, and said Railways ran more than 4,611 Shramik Special trains carrying more than 63.07 lakh workers (The Leaflet).

In the same fortnight the Railway Minister told Parliament that 97 people died on board Shramik Special trains up to 9 September, as reported (Scroll; The Quint). A report quoted post-mortem findings, including cardiac problems, for cases examined; AiTimeline has not independently verified the cause of each death.

Workers return home, and livelihoods stay uncertain Government action

As restrictions were relaxed in phases, many workers who had returned home stayed, while others went back to cities as businesses reopened. On 20 June 2020 the Centre launched the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for migrant workers who had returned to villages (PIB). The Economic Survey 2020-21 lists the later measures taken to blunt the loss of livelihoods, including a higher allocation for MGNREGS (Economic Survey).

AiTimeline did not find a national figure for how many returnees went back to cities and how many stayed, so this page does not give one.

The Supreme Court sets a 15-day window to send stranded workers home Court or Parliament

The Court directed all states and Union Territories to identify stranded migrant workers who wished to return and to complete their journeys by train or bus within 15 days. It recorded a demand for 171 Shramik trains and directed Railways to provide any additional trains within 24 hours of a request. States were also asked to detail schemes available to returnees (quoted in the 2021 judgment).

The Supreme Court: no fare for the journey home, and food on the way Court or Parliament

Hearing the matter on Thursday 28 May, the bench directed that no fare be charged from stranded migrant workers for their journey home and that arrangements be made to provide them with food (The Indian Express). The brief for this page dated the order 29 May; that is the date the newspaper report appeared.

The Supreme Court takes suo motu cognisance Court or Parliament

The Court noted that migrant labourers were walking on foot and cycles and using other modes of transport without food and facing untold miseries, and registered the case on its own motion. It issued notice to the Union and all states and asked the Solicitor General to assist (judgment; Sabrang).

Eleven days earlier, on 15 May, a different bench had dismissed an application seeking directions for walking labourers; the Solicitor General had argued that nothing could be done if people chose to walk, and the bench said it was impossible for the Court to monitor who was walking (LiveLaw; The Tribune). The Court then took up the issue on its own.

A truck collision in Auraiya kills at least 24 workers travelling home On the ground

Early on 16 May a truck carrying workers from Rajasthan collided with another vehicle near Auraiya. Business Today reported 24 dead and 15 critically injured (Business Today). Reports differ: some counted 23 and one international agency counted at least 25. The NHRC issued notice after media reports that bodies were being carried with the injured in the same vehicle (SCC Online).

The workers were reported to be heading to Bihar and Jharkhand. The cause was under inquiry at the time and AiTimeline has not verified a final finding.

The wage-payment order lapses in the new lockdown guidelines Government action

The 29 March order had told employers to pay wages without deduction for the closure period. The 17 May guidelines did not carry it forward, and earlier orders under the Disaster Management Act ceased to have effect from 18 May, which media reported as the order being withdrawn (Deccan Herald). The Supreme Court had on 15 May asked the Centre not to take coercive action against employers unable to pay full wages for a week, in a petition from a tools manufacturers’ association.

The wage question went on to the Court; on 12 June it passed interim directions and later told employers and workers to negotiate settlements.

Free grain for migrants without ration cards, and portable ration cards Government action

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced free foodgrains for about 8 crore migrants who had no central or state ration card, for two months, at a cost to the Centre of Rs 3,500 crore, with states responsible for identification and distribution. She also announced that ration cards would be made portable under One Nation One Ration Card (Onmanorama). Reports differ on the exact ration per person.

Sixteen workers walking home are killed by a goods train near Aurangabad On the ground

A goods train ran over migrant workers who had fallen asleep on the track while walking from Jalna towards Bhusawal, hoping to reach Madhya Pradesh. Most outlets reported 16 deaths, though early reports said 14 (The Wire). The Railway Ministry said the driver tried to stop on seeing people on the track, and ordered an inquiry. Survivor and group-size numbers vary between reports.

Shramik Special trains begin Government action

The Ministry of Home Affairs allowed stranded migrant workers to travel by Shramik Special trains from 1 May, with the sending and receiving states agreeing (PIB). The first train, from Lingampalli in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand, carried about 1,200 people; reports give 1,225 and a departure around 5 am, and said the operation was kept quiet to avoid crowds (The News Minute).

Numbers rose fast: 366 trains by 10 May, 1,773 by 20 May and 3,276 by 26 May with more than 44 lakh passengers, according to Railways data reported by the press (The Tribune). The final tally reported to Parliament was more than 4,600 trains and over 63 lakh passengers.

Buses are allowed for stranded workers Government action

The Home Ministry order of 29 April allowed stranded migrant workers to travel to their native places by buses, with coordination between states (PIB). Access depended on arrangements by state governments.

Limited movement and work allowed within states Government action

On 19 April the Home Ministry allowed migrant workers to move within their states so they could be engaged in industry, farming, construction, manufacturing and MNREGA work, as new activities were permitted outside containment zones from 20 April (PIB). It did not restore inter-state transport.

Lockdown extended to 3 May; a crowd gathers at Bandra station On the ground

After the Prime Minister announced that the lockdown would run to 3 May, a crowd of migrant workers gathered near Bandra station in Mumbai in the afternoon. Estimates range from about 1,000 to 3,000. Maharashtra’s Chief Minister attributed it to a misleading report that trains would resume, and police used force to disperse the crowd (The Wire). Some social media users framed the gathering as religious; Mumbai Police said it was not.

The Centre tells states to improve conditions in relief camps Government action

The Home Ministry wrote to states and Union Territories to comply with the Supreme Court’s directions for migrants in relief shelters: medical facilities, food, clean drinking water and sanitation, counsellors, humane treatment by police, and volunteers to supervise welfare (PIB).

The government reports 21,486 relief camps Government action

The government said 21,486 relief camps had been set up, with 6,75,133 people sheltered and around 25 lakh given meals. The Cabinet Secretary asked states to ensure counselling in camps (PIB). These were government-reported figures at that date, not a measure of every worker’s access to food or shelter.

The Centre tells the Supreme Court what it has done Court or Parliament

In a public interest petition about migrant labourers, the Centre filed a status report on steps taken, and told the Court that food was being provided to over 22 lakh migrant workers (SCC Online). The Government claimed the migration was the result of panic triggered by fake news and asked the Court to bar the media from publishing pandemic news without first checking with the Centre. According to Columbia University’s Global Freedom of Expression summary, the Court declined to order that direction, said it did not intend to curb free discussion, and expected the media to act responsibly (summary).

Crowds at Anand Vihar bus terminal on the Delhi-UP border On the ground

Thousands of workers, many of whom had walked from across Delhi, gathered at Anand Vihar bus terminal to board buses home. The UP chief minister’s office had announced buses that morning and the Delhi government offered buses to the border; the Home Ministry later told the Supreme Court that misinformation was to blame, which The Wire disputed (The Wire; Scroll photo report). Counts of people differ by report and day.

The Home Ministry tells states to create shelters, and employers to pay wages Government action

The order told states to set up relief shelters with food, to keep people who had already moved in nearby quarantine facilities for at least 14 days after screening, and told employers to pay wages on the due date without deduction for the closure period. Landlords were told not to demand rent for one month and not to force workers or students to vacate (PIB). It tried to prevent a mass movement to home states.

States may use disaster funds for food and shelter Government action

The Centre allowed states to use the State Disaster Response Fund to provide food, health care and shelter to homeless people, including migrant workers (PIB). It created a funding route; delivery depended on local capacity.

A Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package is announced Government action

The Centre announced the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, totalling Rs 1.70 lakh crore. By September 2020 the government said around 42 crore poor people had received Rs 68,820 crore of financial assistance under it (PIB).

India enters the first nationwide lockdown Government action

The lockdown came into force on 25 March under a Home Ministry order dated 24 March. Most commercial and industrial activity was suspended, with exemptions for essential services, and rail, metro and road passenger transport stopped (MHA order).

The Prime Minister announces the lockdown in a televised address Government action

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown, initially for 21 days, in a televised address, with restrictions taking effect from midnight (MHA order). Public transport stopped within hours.

States begin partial and full lockdowns Government action

Between 16 and 23 March most state governments and Union Territories introduced restrictions. The government’s later account records 451 cases and 9 deaths on 23 March 2020 (PIB).

India reports its first confirmed COVID-19 case Government action

India’s first confirmed case was reported on 30 January 2020, after airport screening started on 18 January (PIB).