Back at work: Sections of stranded labourers returned to work in infrastructure projects

Machines are whirring again in a few projects in railways, road and steel, among others. A few thousand workers are back at work. A section of labourers, who had been stranded in states across India, were surveyed for their skills and then mobilised and dispatched to project sites within those states. The process began after the government gave its nod to restart core sector activities, albeit with conditions, from April 20 — four weeks after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Interstate movement of citizens has been barred and some states have enforced stringent measures even on interdistrict travel — for example, from a contaminated red zone to a virus-free green district and vice-versa.