On 24 March 2020 when an all India lock-down was declared by the Prime Minister with only a four-hour notice, as a necessary step to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus in India the section of Indian people that was hit the hardest about their location and livelihood was the migrant labour.

In trying to respond to their plight, social workers, government officials and scholars have tried to study the phenomenon and suggest measures and help get some concrete assistance.

The Migrant Labour Initiative(MLI) of the Development Research Institute (DRI) of Gabeshana Chakra has been actively discussing, sharing and intervening in the case of the Odisha workers during this period. Covid-19 has put the migrant labour in the most miserable condition bringing forth new challenges.

Several notes have been prepared and shared. Questionnaires have been prepared to collect data. Memorandums have been prepared by Citizen action groups.

DRI has planned to put them together that will make a few general points about concepts, data and the larger perspective.