Migrant workers on the trains said they had been unemployed for three months.
New Delhi:
As limited train services resumed on Monday, many migrant workers were among the first to line up and brave the risk of COVID-19 infection with little more than tickets bought with borrowed money to friends and neighbors.
Unemployed since March, many do not have a single rupee in their pocket. They said they were forced to borrow money and buy tickets because they could not find seats on the special Shramik (worker) trains that the government started using. last month.
“I used to work as a worker. I am going back to Bihar because I have been unemployed for almost three months now. I have no more money. The tickets cost 8,100. I borrowed it from a neighbor. I don’t know when I can pay it back, “Aryan Kumar told GalacticGaming.
Her father, Umesh Mehto, said, “I also worked as a worker. There is no work here (in Delhi). We have been on rest for three months. We have no money . “
Others have spoken of leaving Delhi because of the increase in coronavirus cases.
“I am going to Patna to drop off my family. There are too many risks in Delhi,” said Najmuddin Noor. Train travel has changed dramatically in the post-coronavirus world, he said.
“You will not receive sheets or blankets even on Rajdhani Express. There is no food. You can only get water, tea and cookies and even that is paid for. You have to go through the scanning at the station, “he said.
Poor Lakhs of India, including migrant workers, were hit hard by the brutal announcement announced two months after the coronavirus pandemic hit India, with many cities losing their jobs, starving and suffering to return to their home village.
Some have walked or cycled long distances to their homes in the harsh summer heat, dozens die from exhaustion or accidents.
Last month, after haunting images of pregnant women and exhausted children walking on the country’s roads, public pressure increased, the central government agreed to run special trains and allow the buses to transport them .
But special trains have often been delayed, leaving migrants on standby or in hot weather trains for days, or diverted to other stations. There have also been allegations of food and water shortages during travel.
