Trains roll in full of desolate and panic-stricken people
VARANASI: : Panic and pain were writ large on the faces of people reaching Varanasi from different areas of Gujarat following attacks on north Indians there.
Jeetendra Kumar, who worked in a factory on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, heaved a sigh of relief after alighting at Varanasi railway station.
He is not alone. Others reaching here from Gujarat exhibited similar emotions. Hundreds have landed in Varanasi during the last 24 hours. Jeetendra and Jogendra belong to Ballia, Ashok Kumar belongs to Chhapara Bihar.
The attacks and threats against “outsiders”, which left 45 persons injured between September 28 and October 3, started following the rape of a 14-month-old girl allegedly by a migrant worker last month. One Raghuvir Sahu (19) from Bihar, a worker at a ceramic factory, was arrested for the crime in Himmatnagar on September 28.
On Tuesday too, hundreds of Hindi speaking migrants continued to flee Gujarat.
Trains to Bihar and UP from Gujarat were choked to capacity. People on board the trains passing through Varanasi were in a
hurry to reach their homes.
“The situation is very bad (in Gujarat). After the attacks on north Indians began, we decided to leave as no one was ready to guarantee our safety. The factory owner told us that he cannot guarantee our security. He won’t be able to protect, if anyone attacks us,” Indu Devi of Sasaram said. She said that the factory owner was kind enough to inform
them in advance. He told them that there was anger among the people against north Indians.
Ritesh Kumar, a native of Ghazipur, was equally panicked. On way to the Ahmadabad railway station from the factory, they were very frightened because of the violence against north Indians.
Kumar and others, whose children were enrolled in the schools in Gujarat, were concerned about their children’s future.
Though Sabarmati Express was packed to capacity, they managed to board the general compartment and reached Varanasi.
A passenger, belonging to Ghazipur but not willing to disclose his name, alleged, “Equipped with canes, a number of locals suddenly entered localities where people of UP and Bihar lived. They beat up some of the people and left. How can anyone work under such circumstances? We fled.”
He said that he used to work in a factory. A sudden spurt in violence left him unemployed and he didn’t know how he would earn his livelihood. In a hurry, many people could get only their clothes and left utensils and other things behind in the rented rooms they had taken.
Chinta Devi got off the train with a bundle on her shoulder.
“I never thought that I would be forced to leave Gujarat. But I was forced to flee. Gujarat was no less than a second home since we worked there and earned our livelihood. But the way we were dealt with has shaken us from the inside,” she said.