No food, no money, no work, will return when situation normalises, says labourers

There was chaos in a lane near Dandekar bridge on Monday as labourers from nearby areas, who had filled application forms to go to their hometowns, gathered to check

There was chaos in a lane near Dandekar bridge on Monday as labourers from nearby areas, who had filled application forms to go to their hometowns, gathered to check if the special police officers called out their names among the list of people who will return home.

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A group of labourers did not even realise that the list of names being called out was only for trains which will be leaving for Uttar Pradesh. Among them was a group of cloth handiwork - stitching and embroidery - workers from Darbhanga in Bihar. They sat at the end of a 130-150-metre long line waiting for their names to be called out.

Mohammad Salauddin Ansari, 42, a native of Darbhanga, who currently lives in the interiors of Dattawadi, said, “I am staying here for the past 10 years, but I have to return as I do not have food or money left.”

“Pre-Diwali is the peak season for the business. During this time we get money to survive during the low seasons. Currently, work has come to a standstill. We work for some shops owners and they have shut shops now,” said Ansari.

“I will come back if the almighty wants me to come here and I hope this pandemic ends soon,” said Ansari.

The workers get paid per piece they stitch or embroider - dupatta, saree, dress, scarf among other cloth items. Among the same group was Mohammad Hashim Shaikh, 27, who had come to the city a year ago and hopes to come back when the pandemic is over.

“Ration was distributed in the areas close to the main road. Nobody bothered to come in the interiors of the lanes where we live,” he said before turning his attention back to the public announcement system.

While the two workers waited with 25-30 others with them, a family of three waited for their names to be called by the group of special police officers helping the staff of Dattawadi police station.

“I have been working at a laundry for a few months now. My wife came here to visit me around January with my 5-year-old daughter. She was scheduled to leave on April 3. Now I will go back with her and wait for the lockdown to be over,” said a well-dressed Pravesh Kumar Sishad, 37, who waited for their names to be called out along with his 30-year-old wife Sushma Devi and their daughter - all wore masks.

“Afterwards, I will try to come back. We last got paid in March. No money in April,” he added. They were hoping to make their way to Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh.

While their fate was not shared by others, the sentiment was shared by Shyam Sundar Maurya, 25, who wanted to reach Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

“I work in a furniture shop. I came here in January. My brother came here, two months before me, in November 2019. We could hardly work for two months before work stopped completely and we had to ask for money from home where nobody is earning,” said Maurya.

While Shyam’s name was on the list of applicants approved and returned from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, his elder brother’s name was missing.

However, Pornima Gaikwad, deputy commissioner of police, zone 3, who was present on the spot assured them that his brother will receive help.

“I have 15,000 labourers in my zone. Today (on Monday) 1,310 labourers will be leaving - the first batch from my zone. PMPML is providing buses from verification points to railway stations,” said DCP Gaikwad.

“The process is challenging - first registration because of the sheer number of people as against the 30-40 police staff and second was the assessment. All 15,000 people in my zone got medical certificates before it was not a requirement anymore. Now their mobilisation is our task,” said DCP Gaikwad.

When asked about the issue faced while dealing with a desperate crowd, DCP Gaikwad said, “They are just poor people wanting to go home after being here without work or money for 45 days.”

In zone 3 there were seven other points like the one near Dandekar bridge where labourers had gathered - two managed by Sinhgad road police station, three (including Dandekar bridge) in Dattawadi, one in Kothrud and two in Warje, according to DCP Gaikwad.

The ones who made it through the lane and onto the PMPML bus left Pune on a train scheduled to leave Pune station at 8:30 pm.