Spurning free air tickets, accommodation and higher pay, millions of migrant workers who fled India's cities when coronavirus hit are too scared to return, with grim implications for the already crumbling economy.
Migrant laborers form the backbone of Asia's third-biggest economy toiling in every sector from making consumer goods and stitching garments to driving cabs.
But when India went into lockdown in late March, vast numbers lost their jobs, prompting a huge heart-rending exodus back to their home villages, sometimes on foot, their children in their arms.
Some died on the way, according to AFP.
Mumbai's swanky high-rises, for example, were built and largely staffed by people from poorer states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha, who worked as security guards, cooks and cleaners.
But as the city became a virus hotspot, around 80 percent of construction workers left the financial hub after work came to a standstill, according to the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry.
Four months on, with lockdown measures eased, some workers have trickled back but more than 10,000 building sites are lying virtually abandoned due to severe labor shortages across the city.
"We are trying our best to bring back migrant workers, even going to the extent of giving them air tickets, COVID-19 health insurance ... (and) weekly checkups by doctors," real estate developer Rajesh Prajapati said.
"But it has not reaped any positive signs yet," he told AFP.
With a colossal slump in growth expected, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has steadily eased restrictions on many businesses even as coronavirus cases surge towards 1.5 million.
But analysts say firms are still staring at a bleak future due to battered finances, stalled projects and crucially, a lack of workers.
Aseem Kumar, general secretary of the Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan, told AFP his sector was "in a mess".
The organization represents 300 manufacturers exporting clothing to Japan, the United States and Europe. Many have offered workers accommodation, insurance and a 20-percent raise, but to little avail.
"Most of the orders have been deferred to next season as there are no laborers available," he said.
