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Shramik Express with 1,388 migrant workers leaves for Bihar from Bathinda
Many of them say apart from the Covid-19 outbreak financial concerns remain a major worry
The first Shramik Express train from the south Malwa belt with 1,388 migrant workers left for Muzaffarpur, Bihar, from Bathinda railway station on Sunday at 11 am, deputy commissioner B Srinivasan said.
The workers were returning to their hometowns and villages following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to Hindustan Times at the railway station, many of them were emotional, saying financial concerns remained a major worry, apart from the virus outbreak.
They said the authorities had provided them food, bottled water and free travel tickets.
Mahesh Das, aged 38, said he was going back to Bhagalpur even though he had not lost his job as he was homesick and his wife and mother wanted him to come back. “I was working at Guru Gobind Singh Refinery (GGSR) in Bathinda and my job was safe. But I wanted to be with my family because of the pandemic. We have a small piece of agricultural land and what we get is insufficient to feed my family of five. I don’t know how I will support them now,” he said.
Das’s co-passenger Sanjay Das, a mason, said he would like to return to Punjab once the situation normalised. “I had no work for a month because of the lockdown. We got dry rations from government agencies once and then I survived by borrowing money. I will stay put in my village at Bhagalpur with my family, including six children, till things get back to normal. I am the sole earning member of the family, but I have no work now,” he said.
Anwar of Jaimangla village in Purnia district said the contractor he worked for in a construction business helped all workers and provided them food and essentials during the lockdown.
“These are hard times but I know even my employer can support all his workers for a limited amount of time. Also, I wanted to be with my children. Opportunities are bleak at home, so I will have to come back once construction activities resume in Punjab,” he said.
Meanwhile, Srinivasan said the administration had made elaborate arrangements for the safety of other migrant workers in the city, most of them from Bihar.
About 27,000 persons had registered online to go back to the state, but only 3,000 had come forward for medical screening, he said.
Another train would be leaving for Bihar on May 14, Srinivas disclosed.
“As industries have resumed functioning now, many people are not that keen to go back now, he said.”
