Food security of urban migrant labor in the slums during the COVID-19 pandemic in a selected city in India (Ahmedabad/Delhi/Mumbai)
The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India led to loss of livelihoods and affected food access for tens of millions of Indians due to the national lockdown and subsequent restrictions that began towards the end of March 2020. Particularly affected were the urban migrant workers and informal laborers. Millions of migrant and informal workers, suddenly left without livelihoods and income, faced an acute shortage of food. They had to migrate back to their places of origin to be able to feed themselves in this situation. Women were worse affected, often having to sacrifice their food to ensure food for other family members. They also suffered a greater risk of being excluded from Government food assistance on account of exclusion from food safety nets, such as the Targeted Public Distribution System.
The proposed research will explore the food security related issues of urban migrant workers and make recommendations to improve Government response to ensure their food security in case of emergencies such as the COVID pandemic.
