The lockdown situation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has displaced its migrant population. Lack of jobs and money, and public transport being shut down, thousands of migrants were forced to walk hundreds of miles to their home villages - with some dying during the journey. This has put the plight of migrant workers at the forefront. However, these workers have not appeared without any social security protection despite their significant economic contribution and are most affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

SHDA is implementing Migrant support Program in five blocks of district Kushinagar. These blocks are Nebua Naurangiya, Ramkola, Padrauna, Motichak and Kaptanganj. SHDA has also covered 148 gram panchayats in these blocks. 37808 migrant households have been covered through door-to-door survey and camps.A no. of 32704 beneficiary’s entitlement applications had been successfully approved and 30 thousand beneficiary’s households had received minimum Rs.1000/-.Various schemes such a MGNREGA, PM kisan, Kanya sumangala yojana, BOCW, old age pension, disability pension, widow pension have been considered during the survey. For the awareness of the schemes, Camps were organized in the fields and along with the counseling, online applications were also made.

he main focus of SHDA was to provide immediate relief to vulnerable migrant workers through engagement with government entitlements and schemes.Other high impact services such as linkages to skill enhancement opportunities, food security for vulnerable migrant families, credit counseling for self-employment and paralegal services have been added to provide long term support. To ensure the benefits of the schemes, regular contact was made with the concerned officials and information was shared.