Many migrants were able to leave much earlier because the state govt was ahead of the curve The Maximum city is providing a counterpoint to the images of thousands of migrant workers walking from urban centres back home to their villages as the nationwide lockdown plays havoc with livelihoods.
Mumbai, among India’s largest settlements of migrant labour, has remained relatively—and uncannily—quiet. The reasons are multi-layered and complex.
One reason is that a bulk of the labour in the city is from Maharashtra. The other is that the state was ahead of the curve.
When the state government announced its own curfew, it was before the one-day Janata curfew or the subsequent 21-day lockdown.