Migration and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of Uttarakhand Migrants in Delhi

The COVID-19 crisis has posed unprecedented livelihood challenges for migrants across the globe. In India too, the vulnerability of migrants working away from their homes, at a different location, has come to light—in the face of the pandemic, many were forced to return to their places of origin, and migrants from Uttarakhand residing in Delhi were no exception. This article is an attempt to understand the disruptions in the lives and livelihoods of migrants from Uttarakhand, who were residing in low-income settlements in Delhi during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show that more than three-fourths of these migrant workers lost their jobs during the recent pandemic. Dipping into their past savings and dis-saving, the majority of these migrants survived on lesser food, and essentials in order to stay alive on their reduced household incomes. Understandably, the probit results indicate that migrant workers, particularly the less educated, recent migrants and those engaged in the informal manufacturing and service sectors are likely to be more vulnerable during a crisis like COVID-19 than others, and thus, need urgent policy attention.