Rising Covid-19 cases leave people in tandas worried

Hubballi: Yadgir district was categorised under the green zone with not a single Covid-19 case when most of the districts in the state were hit by the pandemic. However, the picture of the district has changed after May 17 when it had reported three fresh positive cases. Compared to other districts in the state, cases are rapidly increasing in Yadgir as it has crossed a grim 100 mark within a week.
The district also saw 72 cases on Saturday, which was the biggest spike in the recent days in North Karnataka region. On Sunday, the total number of infected jumped to 111 in Yadgir and on Monday, again it reported 15 fresh cases, taking the total of infected to 126.
The biggest worrying factor is that most of the infected are from tandas in Yadagir district. About 90% of the total 126 are from tandas. Now, people in tandas are facing a bleak future after most of their family members who had been to Maharashtra and Bengaluru to work are now living in government quarantine facilities.
Manohar Pawar, director, Tanda Development Corporation, Yadagir, told TOI that there are more than 250 tandas in Yadagir district. About 80% tanda people migrate to Mumbai and Pune while 20% of them migrate to Bengaluru for their livelihood. There will be huge exodus of people to Maharashtra from tandas in September and October. All migrated people will work as construction labourers in Maharashtra and earn Rs 700 to 800 daily. Usually, couple will migrate by leaving their aged parents and children behind. They usually return to their tandas before monsoon to begin agricultural activities. After kharif season, they again head back to Maharashtra or Bengaluru in search of jobs.
When hundreds of migrated people came back to Yadgir from Maharashtra by Shramik train, they were put under quarantine in facilities provided by the government. Now most of them are testing positive. Of the 126 cases, 115 are from the tandas. This has created panic among people in the tandas.
Once they recover and return to the tandas, they won’t be having any work on hand and will be extremely hard for them to manage their families. So, the government should come to the rescue of the tribe by ensuring regular jobs for them under MGNREGA and other developmental works. A special package should be announced for the benefit of the people in the tandas, Pawar said.
Sources said that Allipur tanda has so far reported 26 positive cases, Yaragol Dodda tanda 20, Bacahapur 14, and Mudnal 5 cases. Cases have also been reported from Basanatpur, Ramsamudra, Chintanhalli, Yampur, Arakera, Naikal, Kurakunda and other tandas.