2 senior citizens walk from Bidar to Sec’bad
They are living on footpath near the railway station hoping to get a train for their hometown, Barnala
For the past couple of days, senior citizens Harbans Singh and Jasmeer Singh have been living on the footpaths and roads near the Secunderabad railway station. They want to get home to Barnala, Punjab. It seems they will have to wait for at least a week. The two elderly men had come south to visit the Guru Nanak Jhira Sahib in Bidar, Karnataka. A few days ago, as relaxations were beginning to make the lockdown a little easier, they decided they needed to get home. The first step was to get to the closest big city — Hyderabad.
This was easier thought than done. Unable to find transportation, they walked all the way from Bidar to the Secunderabad station. Jasmeer Singh said the arduous journey took over two days.
When they reached Secunderabad two days ago, they were told by railway officials that all special trains had left and they would have to buy a ticket. They were unable to shell out `1,800 each for a seat in the Rajdhanilevel special train to New Delhi. “We were told we could wait to buy a sleeper ticket for the first ordinary passenger train that leaves on June 1. The tickets cost us `700 each,” said Jasmeer Singh.
The two men keep moving from one spot to another through the day, depending on where the shade is. One moment, they could be sleeping under the shade of the Hyderabad Metro Rail track. An hour later, they will be on the footpath. When it rains, they set up camp outside a shuttered shop.
“We don’t have the money to live in a hotel, so we will stay here until June 1,” he said. Living on the road, however, isn’t as cheap as it sounds. Both men have been spending at least `200 a day on necessities such as food or going to the toilet. “We tried to stay inside the gurudwara but they didn’t allow us in as we had come from out of town. Of course, I understand their concern,” said Jasmeer Singh, with some sadness.
WHEN THEY reached Secunderabad two days ago, they were told by railway officials that all special trains had left and they would have to buy a ticket.
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