A day before lockdown in Kerala, no mad scramble among migrant workers to leave the State

A majority of them are choosing to stay back, reassured by their employers' promise of care during the lockdown and guarantee of jobs thereafter

The government decision to go for a week-long State-wide lockdown seems to have evoked mixed response among the migrant community, going by the initial signs a day before the lockdown. Notwithstanding the reflex impulse among the community to return home at the first sign of uncertainty, a majority of the migrant workers engaged by contractors seems to have chosen to stay back at least for the time being, reassured by their employers' promise of care during the lockdown and guarantee of jobs thereafter. The same, however, cannot be said about the footloose migrants left to fend for themselves.