Tackling Covid: Overcoming Pandemic Despair
Compared to the densely populated urban areas, Covid-19 pandemic has not been severe so far among the indigenous communities in India. Physical distancing is any case the norm in these regions, given the remoteness of tribal hamlets and houses located at some distance from each other. Their major occupations are subsistence farming or foraging in the forest, which also ensure distancing by default. The only concern was about migrant villagers coming back from other parts of the country. According to estimates, around 55% of the 10.4 crore tribal population live outside tribal blocks, and many of them are seasonal migrants. When the first national lockdown was announced in March 2020, markets, factories and construction work came to a standstill. Unable to pay rent or buy food, most migrant workers were stranded in the places of their informal occupation. Many of them had begun the journey towards their villages but got stranded due to lack of transport.