
A day before lockdown in Kerala, no mad scramble among migrant workers to leave the State
The Hindu
A majority of them are choosing to stay back, reassured by their employers' promise of care during the lockdown and guarantee of jobs thereafter
The government decision to go for a week-long State-wide lockdown seems to have evoked mixed response among the migrant community, going by the initial signs a day before the lockdown. Notwithstanding the reflex impulse among the community to return home at the first sign of uncertainty, a majority of the migrant workers engaged by contractors seems to have chosen to stay back at least for the time being, reassured by their employers' promise of care during the lockdown and guarantee of jobs thereafter. The same, however, cannot be said about the footloose migrants left to fend for themselves.
The municipal bus stand auditorium in Malappuram was packed. But nobody quite knew what to expect. After all, a new event was making its debut at the State School Arts Festival. The moment V.G. Harikrishnan started his rendition of Pyar bhare do sharmile nain..., everyone was convinced that Ghazal was here to stay. The student from GVHSS, Atholi (Kozhikode), was applauded loudly for his rendering of the timeless ghazal sung originally by Mehdi Hassan.

For the last few weeks, several wards in Madurai city have been getting piped drinking water through a new drinking water scheme. The sweetness of the generously supplied water has led to loss of business to several suppliers of canned drinking water in the city. But, not many know that the water supplied to the houses in Madurai is directly drawn from Lower Dam of Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki district of Kerala.











