More than fifty-two thousand Nagas stranded in other states

Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 4 (EMN): More than fifty-two thousand Nagas from Nagaland have been stranded in other states across the country due to the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of novel coronavirus (Covid-19), as per records provided by the Home department of Nagaland.

Informing this to Eastern Mirror, Home Commissioner Abhijit Sinha on Saturday said that approximately 52,401 Nagas from Nagaland were reported to be staying in various cities and places (at 19 different states) in the country.

Approximately 506 calls have been received from them, as on April 4, in relation to issues they faced or are facing, he added.

Last week, Chief Secretary Temjen Toy had taken to Twitter to reach out to those Nagas stranded outside Nagaland and were “facing any kind of racial discrimination/harassment in other states”, to email him or contact his team. Following which, cases of racial profiling against Nagas in various states have been resolved through official contacts, it was informed.

The Naga Students’ Union Bangalore, along with the Eastern Naga Students’ Union, has also constituted a committee called ‘Naga Task Force Bengaluru’ to tackle coronavirus-related issues and help Nagas staying in the metro city. The committee comprises of six members, led by its convenor Mughato Kiba.

The home commissioner also said that the stranded migrants within Nagaland, who came to collect rations were “very less”. About 316 persons were provided with food and shelter in the state, while more than 3500 daily wage earners were provided with food and food grains on Friday.

However, the number is increasing, Sinha informed. He added that the Home office has received lists of migrant workers from almost all the districts, in which some districts have reported ‘nil’.

Though rations were distributed to daily wage earners and the weaker section of society, he said that “there were also a lot of them who can manage and their condition is not as worse off as we thought.”

“Some have enough cash and are managing on their own as of now. But later on, they may also be coming out to collect rations,” he added. 

Earlier on Thursday, officer on special duty to Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority, Johnny Ruangmei informed that over 10,000 migrant workers were recorded in various districts of Nagaland including Kohima, Phek, Mokokchung, and Mon.

The Kohima Municipal Council has identified 8978 migrant workers in its jurisdiction alone.