Plea in Delhi HC suggests measures to prevent migrant labourers gathering at relief centers
Jun 01, 2020
New Delhi [India], June 1 : A public interest litigation (PIL) has been moved in Delhi High Court suggesting measures to prevent gatherings of migrant labourers at various relief and screening centers in the national capital amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
The PIL, moved by social activist Manish Singh through advocate Moni Chinmay, also seeks directions to the Delhi government to take better and effective measures to protect the interests of migrant labourers and the society at large amid the ongoing lockdown.
The Delhi High Court will hear the plea on Tuesday, which also seeks direction to the respondent to provide basic facilities, including, but not limited to, food, proper shelter, proper toilets, and drinking water to the migrant labourers at various centers in the national capital.
The plea, filed on Friday, also seeks directions to the respondent to follow the guidelines issued by the Central government and in the process follow the basic parameters of social distancing, health, and hygiene to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
It said that the respondent has failed to set up any mechanism, due to which thousands of these labourers congregate at particular centers, and in the process, the entire system of social distancing is set at naught.
Social activist Manish Singh, in his plea, suggested a method by which these labourers do not assemble at one place, and said that the methodology could be a centralized interactive voice response system (IVRS) or a dedicated number for giving a missed call by these labourers.
"Upon receipt of a missed call, the system would generate a unique registration number for each labour which would be messaged to the said labour on his mobile and the said message would also contain the details of the center and time, where and when the said labour should visit and enroll and screen himself," the plea said.
"This would drastically reduce the number of footfall at a particular centre as also the inconvenience to these labourers who have to wait endlessly at various centers, most of the time without any luck," it added.
The plea said that the method would facilitate the respondent in arranging the food and other facilities for the stay of these labourers at those designated centres.
