India: riot in a reception center for seasonal workers in New Delhi

Text by: Côme Bastin Follow

Authorities are overwhelmed by the number of seasonal homeless workers since confinement in India. On Saturday April 11, a riot broke out in one of the centers which is trying to accommodate them in New Delhi.

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From our correspondent in India,

It is a sabotage that reflects the saturation and despair that reigns in centers for migrant workers in India. Three buildings were set on fire by their occupants in New Delhi, near the Yamuna River.

The refuge welcomed daily workers without any resource and unable to return to their countryside, while economic activity and transport are paralyzed in India. Scheduled for a hundred people, it housed and fed thousands chaotically since confinement.

Clashes between staff and occupants broke out over food on Friday. The police then intervened brutally and four workers jumped into the river. One of them drowned there, which in turn exploded the protest the next day. Saturday evening, the fire was brought under control and the police announced that they had arrested six rioters.

More than 200 centers are trying to manage the social emergency in the Indian capital, but the problem crosses the whole country. In Gujarat, hundreds of migrant workers rebelled on Friday evening and set fire to cars to claim shelter and food.

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