Gurugram: As migrant workers arrived in buses at the railway station on Wednesday afternoon to board an evening Shramik Special train, an autorickshaw driver parked his vehicle and hastily took his place at the entrance of the station. He started handing out tickets to migrants and requested them to form a queue.
“Please maintain social distancing and take your tickets from here. Do not form a group. Wear a mask and use the sanitiser please,” he yelled to the workers.
Over the next three hours, Gurpreet Singh, an autorickshaw driver, distributed food packets, water and dry rations to migrant workers as they lined up at the platforms to board the train to their home states. For the past 25 days, Singh has been helping workers, often carrying cooked meals in his autorickshaw and ferrying migrants to the station, before lending a hand in the screening process, along with members of civil defence teams.
Singh, a resident of New Palam Vihar, said that when the lockdown was imposed, he started volunteering to distribute dry rations and cooked food provided by civic authorities and NGOs, to workers at a community centre near his house.
“I was moved when I saw pictures of migrants walking to their villages. A friend told me that I could assist the civil defence staff at the railway station and help distribute meals at the railway station. On the days the Shramik Special train is ferrying passengers, I volunteer from 3pm to 6.30pm,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“I was moved when I saw pictures of migrants walking to their villages. A friend told me that I could assist the civil defence staff at the railway station and help distribute meals at the railway station. On the days the Shramik Special train is ferrying passengers, I volunteer from 3pm to 6.30pm,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The 46-year-old shifted to Gurugram from Delhi more than a decade ago, and has been driving an autorickshaw since 2011. Since there was no work once the nationwide lockdown came into effect, he decided that rather than being idle, he would devote his time to serve others.
“I have been volunteering at gurudwaras for several years. There are people who have been driven out of their homes and are struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic. I am just trying to do my bit by ferrying migrants in my rickshaw or distributing food packets and water. In these tough times, these acts of selfless service can go a long way,” he said.
He has a family of seven — his parents, wife, a 17-year-old son, a sister and brother-in-law. “My brother-in-law works as a cleaner. He and I are the only earning members in the family. Since the lockdown, with almost no income, there has been a financial crunch. But we are managing from our savings and a little borrowing from relatives,” he said.
He has now resumed driving his autorickshaw, but for only a few hours each day. “I bought the autorickshaw on a loan and still have a few instalments pending. In the morning, I earn a little from ferrying passengers. However from 3pm to 7pm, I dedicate my time to volunteer, either at the railway station or at a community centre,” he said.
Sunil Saini, a volunteer from the civil defence team, said, “For the past three weeks, I have seen this autorickshaw driver help migrant workers by distributing meals and helping with their luggage at the railway station. The train usually leaves around 6pm. He comes in his uniform around 3pm and till the train departs, he assists everyone and keeps morale high.”