Watch: Hit Hard By Note Ban, Migrant Workers Head Back to Villages

Migrant labourers at Delhi’s Anand Vihar Railway Station. (Photo Courtesy: The Quint)

Thousands of migrant labourers have been dealt a heavy blow by the note ban. These workers, who worked in factories as daily wagers, have neither work nor money. Leaving them with no choice but to return to their villages.

The Quint visits the Hosiery Complex in Noida and the Anand Vihar railway station in Delhi to understand the plight of India’s migrant workers after demonetisation.

No Money & No Jobs

Some of the daily wagers say jobs have now dried up. Others point out that employers are paying them with old notes, which they can't use to meet their daily needs. Helpless, they are forced to return to their villages.

Indu Devi used to work as a helper in a textile mill in Noida’s Hosiery Complex. (Photo Courtesy: The Quint)

Demonetisation has caused us a lot of hardship. We have to stand in long queues. and when it’s our turn to withdraw money, the banks run out of cash.

Indu Devi, Helper, Textile Mill

Uncertainty Over Future

Left without jobs and money, most of the immigrants don't know what they will do after they go home.

Migrant labourers don’t have money to even meet their basic needs. (Photo Courtesy: The Quint)

I’ll think about what I will do once I’m home.

Pappu Kumar Singh, Migrant Labourer