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From agony to hope: Homebound migrant workers on foot find solace at makeshift shelters in Pune district
The makeshift camp at a marriage hall in Chandoli near Khed is among 39 such centres that the district administration has set up with the help of local gram panchayats
Soar feet, body pain, no food or money and dealing with the needs of other family members has proved to be a challenging situation for migrant labourers who have been on the road during the lockdown trying to get back to their hometowns on foot.However, for workers walking through Pune district, makeshift relief camps at wedding halls, community centres and roadside eateries has provided the much-needed relief to those who have been the worst hit by the lockdown.
After having walked around 30 kilometres, Rasia Saad, a mother of four, including a six-month-old child, arrived at relief camp in Chandoli on Pune-Nashik road, she was more than surprised. Her experience was far different than what she had thought.
The makeshift camp at a marriage hall in Chandoli near Khed is among 39 such centres that the district administration has set up with the help of local gram panchayats. These camps have so far offered temporary shelter to at least 10,000 migrant workers walking on the highways to their hometowns before they are dispatched to nearby the bus depot or railway station to take them to their destination.
“We were walking down the road when people here took us to this camp where we are getting food, milk for children and bus service is also being arranged to get us back to our state,” said Saad, a labourer from Chhattisgarh engaged at a local industrial estate, who came along with group of 10 people. Saad had undertaken this journey back home on foot after the lockdown was extended, when a local NGO brought her and the children to this camp.
Most of these relief camps have been set up at roadside hotels and wedding halls or community centres on highways leading to Pune. “In all these 39 camps, facilities such as water, toilets, food, basic medical care, and check-up for flu-like symptoms are being offered,” said Sambhaji Langore, project director, district rural development scheme.
The camps, according to district collector Naval Kishore Ram, have been set up under the district contingency fund and money will be paid to gram panchayats for erecting these camps.
“So far, we have given food and other things to over 4,000 people. We have also made arrangements of buses till the Pune railway station from where they can board trains to their destinations,” said Mayur Ugle, development officer, Chandoli.
Most of the migrants who are offered brief shelter at these camps are from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. These migrants were working mostly in industries and at construction sites, which stopped functioning during the lockdown, rendering them jobless.
“We have now made arrangement of buses from our camp to the Pune railway station where a train has been arranged for MP. In these efforts, we are getting help from local youths and NGOs,” said Ugle.
To most workers, the camps are offering masks and soaps to maintain cleanliness. “Before subjecting us to medical screening, people at this camp offered us soap and masks,” said Lala Bajpai, a migrant from MP, who had taken halt at another camp set up at Sitabai Thite school in Shirur.
