E-Paper
Migrants face unending wait for buses in Thane
Padma Bhakar, 26, a resident of Basti village in Uttar Pradesh, is four months pregnant and has been standing at Majiwada junction in Thane since Tuesday waiting
Padma Bhakar, 26, a resident of Basti village in Uttar Pradesh, is four months pregnant and has been standing at Majiwada junction in Thane since Tuesday waiting for a bus. She is carrying her three-year-old boy and has hardly eaten anything.
“We travelled from Bhiwandi to Majiwada junction by asking for a lift from people. I am tired of this endless wait for a bus,” said Padma. Her husband Sanjeev managed to get into a bus on Tuesday but had to alight as by the time Padma and her son boarded, the seats were full.
“The moment a bus comes, everyone rushes in. We have been surviving on biscuits for the past 48 hours,” said Sanjeev, 29, who used to work as a mason in a construction company in Bhiwandi.
Like them, hundreds of migrants, including pregnant women and children, are waiting at various junctions in Thane, Bhiwandi and Kalyan for days to board state transport buses provided by the Thane district collector to go to their hometown.
Ravindra Kumar, 33, an autorickshaw driver, who is from Madhya Pradesh, has been waiting at Durgadi junction in Kalyan with a group from his village.
“On Saturday, we were told that a bus will depart from here, so we gathered here,” said Kumar, adding his house owner in Kalyan will not take him back.
Till now, around 56,000 migrants from across Thane district have been sent home by the district collector in buses and train. However, lakhs are still waiting for their turn.
“We understand their situation. We are making all effort to provide them transport and meals. Our volunteers are also distributing food to those waiting at junctions. We request everyone to not step out of their homes,” said Rajesh Narvekar, district collector, Thane.
A total of 21,500 migrants have been sent in 17 trains and 34,500 have been ferried in 1,553 buses to their native places in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand.
Lack of coordination and announcement about buses and trains is adding to the chaos. “Some of us have been left as we do not get proper information,” said Shakti Singh, 37, a resident of Rajasthan. “I did not have a proper meal for two days. I am walking to various junctions such as Anjurphata, Damankarnaka and Bhiwandi-Kalyan bypass every day hoping to get a bus.”
