People are helping us, government isn't, say migrant workers

Tired hungry thirsty dejected and with blistered feet hundreds of children and adults are currently trudging along the MumbaiNashik highway in the hope that they will reach their hometowns in UP Most of these daily wage workers had already begun their journey by the time the government decided toply special trains to repatriate themBut others began to walk towards their hometowns uncertain and confused about train services not knowing how to arrange the required documents or procure medical certificatesAshok Kumar and Ganesh Sahanis families are walking from Panvel to Basti UPThe media has labelled it as the greatest exodus in India since the partition The workers have been walking from Bhayandar Bhiwandi Ulhasnagar Panvel Taloja and other places unable to wait any further for the lockdown to be liftedmidday on Saturday spoke to several migrants who have been walking along the MumbaiNashikAgra highway even from before the announcement of the third extension to the lockdown Some have walked to Nashik in the hopes of boarding a trainVishwanath Shindes aunt 70 has lost her entire family so he had brought her to stay with him PicsRajesh GuptaAshok Kumar 27 and his family including three children aged one to six had walked 70 km from Panvel to Bhiwandi The family which used to work at a construction site till their owner suffered heavy losses and abandoned them are headed to Uttar Pradeshs Basti district Asked why the family started walking with children in the scorching heat instead of waiting for the government to start train services Kumar said Kisko achcha lagta hai bachchon ke saath itna dur chalne ke liye Mai aapko majburi bata nahi sakta We were starving I swear on my children that nobody from the government was helping us with food Some people helped us with 15 days of ration but how long would they do that Kumar and his family decided to walk home when they had only a few hundred rupees left We used to send money to our elderly parents and now they are sending it to us so we can reach home safely We dont know where these trains will leave from and what is to be done to get into them Instead we will walk this way may be someone will give us a liftWell die at homeKumar was accompanied by his friend Ganesh Sahani who also belongs to Basti and worked at the same place Sahani also has a 6yearold child He told midday Well walk instead of starving our kids On the way someone will help us If we have to die we will die in our homeSunil Yadav and friends rushed to this reporters car asking for food Team midday didnt have any but at the same time another car stopped there and offered them foodKumar told midday on Sunday over phone that he had reached Jhansi but Sahanis family did not make it They were intercepted by police and taken to a quarantine centre in Nashik We were lucky as there was no place in the police vehicle We stayed at the Nashik vegetable market for a night After walking for 180 km some people helped us with food and shelter The next morning a vegetable supplier from UP accommodated my family in his truck and now we have reached JhansiThe heartwrenching stories continued Another dailywage labourer who belongs to Maharashtras Akola district was walking with his family carrying his 70yearold disabled aunt Vishwanath Shinde 45 worked with a road contractor in Navi Mumbai He stays with his wife two children his sister who is blind and his disabled aunt Vachelabai Nahi We met Shinde near Kalyan Everyone is dead in my aunts family and she is alone So I brought her to stay with us in Mumbai I carry her in my arms like a child We stop every few kilometres to rest he saidSumit and Sarita Dangar are walking with their child and say they have no moneyShinde who used to earn R700 a day said I dont have a single paisa to afford any transport from here The government said it will send buses it will send trains There are people walking on the roads here They can send the buses here Will they send them after we dieSumit and Sarita Dangar were walking with their 6yearold daughter to Washim Sumit had come to Navi Mumbai just four days before the lockdown was announced to work at a construction site I thought things will get better after May 3 but nothing is going to change We both earned R800 every day But all our savings have gone so we decided to leave the city Once we reach home the villagers will send us to a quarantine centre for 14 days which is compulsoryDoctors from Kongaon Medical Practitioners Association have set up a camp to help the migrants with basic medicines PicsRajesh GuptaNo help from govtSeveral youngsters are also walking to UP Of one such group 14 members worked in Bhayandar and belong to Siddharth Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh They had heard of a special train to Gorakhpur from Nashik and started walking there to catch it If we cant catch it we will walk to our home town No help has come from the government Its the people who have been helping us even on the highway said Sunil Yadav Another group from Prayagraj working in Ulhasnagar which has a big migrant population also left for Nashik hoping to board the special train The group belongs to Prayagraj Some trains will go to Lucknow We have walked for a whole night for almost 50 km to reach Nashik on time We are starving Our parents sent some money so we can reach home We will fight until we are alive said MunnalalMigrants avoid trainsOn Sunday Sunil Yadav called this reporter to say they would continue to walk We had checked with people in Bhayandar about special trains But they said they are facing difficulties to get their names registered as there are thousands of people They have been asked to get medical certificates and pay for tickets as well After listening to all this we kept walking and have now crossed Nashik said Sunil YadavVinod Yadav a tailor from Bhayandar and his friends had by Saturday morning reached Kalyan Phata We started walking hoping to board a train But some people told us about the formalities We dont have a single rupee How will we pay for tickets he saidDoctors camp on highwayIn the midst of this humanitarian crisis three doctors from the Kongaon Medical Practitioners Association have set up a camp on the highway with medicines which include pain killers paracetamol and ORS We have been holding this camp for the past three days from 6 am to 9 pm for the migrants We also provide food to them Almost 500 people have benefitted every day said Dr Bharat PatilThis is the time we must help each other We have been taking their temperature as well said Dr Kishore SinghCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news