After Mumbai, Migrant Workers Protest In Surat Amid Lockdown; Demand To Be Sent Back Home

Hundreds of migrant workers gathered in Surat on Tuesday evening, demanding they be sent to their native places despite lockdown, police said.

The migrant workers gathered in Varachha area of the city and sat on a road demanding that they be allowed to go to their native places, police said.

Varachha is the diamond polishing hub of Surat, giving employment to lakhs of workers from different parts of Gujarat and the country. Many textile units are also located here.

"These migrant workers want to go to their native places. We have asked them not to be impatient because a lockdown is in force at present.

"Since some of them were complaining about food, we have called an NGO and immediately brought food packets for them. The situation is now under control," a police officer at the spot told reporters.

Local MLA and minister of state for health Kishor Kanani went to the spot to convince the migrant workers, who are mostly from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

"These migrant workers want to go home. They became impatient because they were hopeful that the lockdown will end today," he said.

Migrant workers staged violent protests in Surat on Friday, demanding that they be sent to native places despite lockdown.

A similar incident took place in Mumbai on Tuesday as over a thousand migrant workers flooded Bandra station area wanting to go back home.