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Inputs from V Narayan and Vijay V Singh in Mumbai, Yagnesh Mehta in Surat, Vimal Bhatia in Jaisalmer, Ananth MK in Madurai and Roshan Ali in Hyderabad

Mumbai Lockdown: Migrants hit the roads, CM Uddhav Thackeray assures relief

Protests broke out in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Surat soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of the lockdown extension on Tuesday with hundreds of migrant workers spilling out on the roads demanding that they be sent back to their native states. In two other parts of the country — Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu — migrants took to desperate measures like walking on railway tracks or attempting to travel hundreds of kilometres on bikes to get back to their home states before they were stopped by the administration.In Mumbai’s Bandra (W) and Mumbra, migrants came out in protest of lockdown extension hours after PM’s announcement. A large contingent of cops arrived at Bandra after people started emerging from the slums near the railway station around 3.45pm. Within minutes, the crowd grew to a few thousand. Police had to use force to disperse the mob which mainly comprised labourers from Bengal, UP and Bihar. Their main grouse was that they have no work and no money to pay rent to slumlords.Police claimed over 1,500 people had gathered within 10 minutes after rumours spread that trains would start. Late on Tuesday night, DCP Abhishek Trimukhe said an offence has been registered at Bandra police station against 800 to 1,000 unknown accused for unlawful assembly and rioting.In Mumbra, around 250-300 migrants gathered in Rashid compound area, demanding that they be sent to their home states as they have been deprived of food and other essentials. They returned after being persuaded by senior cops.In Surat, nearly 1,000 migrants came out of dwellings in the Varachha area in the evening and blocked an entire street of the densely populated Baroda Pristage locality. Over 50 cops were deployed to bring the situation under control.Some labourers complained that they are not getting enough food during the lockdown. The fresh protests come just a few days after migrant workers blocked the main roads in Pandesara and Laskana areas of the city and resorted to violence, some of them pelting stones on police vehicles.In Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, migrants from UP, MP and Bihar were seen walking railway tracks in their bid to avoid cops deployed on roads. Station masters at small railways stations persuaded them to go back, but many did not relent. In their desperation to return, some labourers are even leaving behind their belongings.It was a somewhat similar story in TN’s Tuticorin, where 31 people from Rajasthan — some of whom sell ice-cream, snacks and toys to tourists in Kanyakumari — were caught by cops while returning to their state on 12 motorbikes.In Hyderabad, 100-odd workers from Andhra’s Srikakulam came out in their bid to walk to their native place, some 800km away. They were intercepted by police.