Bhagwat Solunkhe, 30, is one of the many people who contributed in helping the migrant labours in Pune reach their native places. Solunkhe took a group of 20 labourers from Pune to Kolkata before the cyclone Amphan hit the eastern coast and derailed all migrant movement.
Even though the journey did not provide comforts like a bed or fan to counter the sweltering heat, he recounts the journey nonchalantly.
“It had started pouring there when we left. The journey back was arduous. too. I reached home only on Sunday,” said Solunkhe.
The truck was a paid service which had police permit from Pune rural police - Wagheshwar parking in Wagjoli to Nadia district in West Bengal. The truck stopped once for a bath in Nagpur and midway for food but never for sleep.
“Yes, we were giving permissions to people who were arranging for their own vehicles but instructed them to maintain social distance. We have maintained due records of all,” said senior police inspector Pratap Mankar of Lonikand police station. However, it had to stop after the cyclone.
Their journey started on May 14 and ended in Krishnanagar, Nadia, according to Solunkhe.
{{/usCountry}}Their journey started on May 14 and ended in Krishnanagar, Nadia, according to Solunkhe.
{{/usCountry}}“It was tiring. After all we did not stop at all for almost four days. There were sleeping arrangements made for migrants in the truck. The co-driver Sadashiv Mange, 37, was driving when I slept,” said Solunkhe.
The truck was sanitised before leaving and the drivers as well as the passengers were given masks added Solunkhe.
“We paid Rs 5,250 each for the journey. When in Maharashtra, we got food, but once we left the borders, it was difficult to get food,” said Asabuddin Sheikh, 45, a resident of Nadia who travelled in the truck. Shaikh used to work at a construction site in Hinjewadi Phase 1.
The food, Solunkhe recalls, was filling within Maharashtra border. However, the food served after they crossed the border was not enough and left them famished. “They were serving whatever best they could - poha, jaggery, banana, biscuits, but that was not enough as in Maharashtra we were provided with a proper meal of chapati-bhaji,” he recalls.
The truck passed through Ahmednagar, Jalna, Akola, and Nagpur before crossing into Chattishgarh where the truck stopped in Raipur and Sambalpur before entering into West Bengal where the truck stopped in Khadakpur.
The truck was one of the last ones to get a permit to travel to West Bengal as the cyclone hit. The Shramik trains to the state were also stopped.