Turned back from Hry border, migrant families return to Zirakpur village only to be refused entry
MOHALI: With a hope to get back home, a group of migrant labourers including women and children had left Phabat village but were compelled to return from the Punjab–Haryana border as they were not allowed to cross over.
Seven-month pregnant Ridhima carrying her twoyear-old walked 34 km (17 km on each side) to village Phabat late on Monday night, only to be told they could not enter the village.
She is among 40 such migrants, rendered jobless, who used cycles and prams to walk 17km to reach Jhermeri in hope of crossing over to reach home in Uttar Pradesh. They had walked along the railway track to reach the border but CRPF deployed by Haryana police sent them back.
“We walked a bit, then rested a bit. Can’t walk for long in this condition,” said Ridhima, whose major worry is to feed her child. She is among six women who are pregnant.
“I had thought we would go back home, so she could deliver the child there. Now we have no money or ration,” said Kallu, Ridhima husband who is a daily wager currently jobless. He underwent stomach surgery only recently and his stitches were removed about 15 days ago.
“We are helpless. We could have gone home and done farm work to feed ourselves,” he added, saying they are a family of 12.
“We had left to go home, but now we have lost the roof over our heads,” said Shripal, another daily wager who along with his family came back.
The migrants stayed for about two days at the border where they were medically examined and provided food and water.
“We kept pleading with them (Haryana police) to let us go but they didn’t pay heed,” said Malti, a mother of three.
To check the spread of the epidemic, states have sealed their borders. To cross over to Haryana, these migrants were expected to hand over a copy of their Aadhaar card with all details of their names and address. But none of them had an Aadhaar card or a curfew pass so they were not allowed to cross over.
VILLAGERS LODGE COMPLAINT
The villagers have given a written complaint to Dera Bassi SDM Kuldeep Bawa; naib tehsildar Varinder Singh Dhoot; Zirakpur SHO Gurwant Singh; and Dhakoli SMO Pommy Chatrath.
The villagers refused to let them enter as they had left without informing anyone on May 2, and now fear they might bring infection to the village.
“We are sending back all the families to their hutments where they were living where they will be home quarantined for next two weeks. They were examined at the border itself and we will provide them with food,” said Kuldeep Bawa, SDM of Dera Bassi.