How interactive audio helped migrants during lockdown
An existing interactive voice response system was refashioned, enabling migrant workers in destination cities get messages regarding their circumstances across, subsequently facilitating their return.
Madan Yadav was among the many migrant workers from Chakai administrative block in Jamui district of Bihar who were stranded in destination states. They had been hoping to return to their native villages by the end of the lockdown which came into effect on 25 March.
“For 10 days we had no food. We spent whatever money we had on getting food items and it is over now. We have no way of returning home,” said Yadav, who was stranded in Surat. Yadav’s is one of the many messages that migrant workers left on the CHIRAGVaani helpline after the pandemic-induced lockdown began.
CHIRAGVaani, introduced originally as a community media platform as a tool to address local issues, was refashioned during the COVID-a9 pandemic. It enabled villagers such as Madan Yadav stranded in other states, to seek help in getting back home.