Imposition of a host of curbs and the fear of another nationwide lockdown prompted by a surge in Covid cases in as many as 12 states has led to many workers to return to their homes in Jharkhand which is also seeing a steady rise in infections.

Thirty-four-year-old Md Gulfam of Jamtara district is among several other migrant workers who got off at Hatia railway station on Thursday night as the Pune-Hatia biweekly special train chugged in. According to sources in Ranchi railway division, the train was almost full with people, primarily students and migrant workers from Pune and other parts of Maharashtra.

Gulfam said he was among the 11 from his village to have gone to Pune in November last year to work in a hotel.

“Due to the weekend lockdown and night curfew till April 30, hotels are badly hit in Pune. Our employer said he would not be able to afford to pay our salaries and provide for us in the coming days. Hence, we thought of returning home before the situation worsens,” Gulfam told The TelegraphOnline over telephone while on way to Jamtara on Friday.

With him was Md Khalid who said they used to work in a tyre company in Chennai until last year’s lockdown led to job losses.

“We wanted to stay on in Jamtara but since we did not get any work for months, we headed to Pune through a common contact who got us work at a hotel as waiters and cooks. We managed to earn Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 per month. Accommodation was free,” he said, but added that they chose to return to Jharkhand now to avoid being stranded in the event of another lockdown.

Rakesh Minz (42) of Ranchi’s Ormanjhi, who spent days on the road while trying to return home from Delhi after last year’s lockdown, got back home earlier in the week. Minz, who used to work in an automobile spare parts company in Gurgaon, said he, along with 50 other contractual workers from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar, was asked by their employer last month to cut down on working hours as a cost cutting measure.

“Less working hours meant less earnings which would make it difficult for us to sustain. Many were even removed from the job, citing lack of enough work. So, I chose to return as my salary fell short by more than half,” he said. Minz has now bought himself a push cart. He would like to start selling fruits and vegetables.

Ironically, The Jharkhand government was unable to provide any comprehensive count of workers returning. But officials in the state labour department conceded that many were indeed returning to the state.

Last year, about six lakh migrants returned to Jharkhand via shramik special trains, buses and flights. Owing to lack of jobs here, many migrated to big cities to explore opportunities after lockdown curbs were eased.

Chief minister Hemant Soren had on many occasions announced that the state government was working to set up a proper mechanism to keep a tab on Jharkhand residents working in other states to ensure their welfare. These efforts have largely remianed a non-starter.

According to a senior officer of the state labour department, migrant workers leaving the state could register themselves through the https://shramadhan.jharkhand.gov.in/home portal. "But, such declarations are voluntary and it is virtually impossible to keep tabs on migrant workers of the unorganised sector," he said.

But additional labour commissioner S. S. Pathak claimed the labour department was still running a migrant helpline (18003456526), which was launched last year. “The department usually swings into action depending on the nature of complaints or grievances that are registered on this helpline,” he said.

Jharkhand NREGA Watch, a social outfit working on rural employment, has appealed to the state government to be ready with contingency plans to reduce the impending rural distress.

“Return of migrants would spur demand for rural jobs," said NREGA Watch convener James Herenj. "As we are already seeing many coming back, we appeal to the government to direct all district administrations to work out pre-approved plans under MNREGA so that people can get jobs readily as an immediate cushion for livelihood," he said, adding that ahead of the monsoon season, people could be engaged in work like digging of ponds and wells.