Migrant workers rush to return home

BHOPAL: Raj Kishore, 42, an employee in a sweet shop in Mumbai for the past five years, set out on Wednesday more than 1200 kilometres to his home in Agra in UP when he was informed about the Maharashtra government’s bus service to Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border.

On Thursday, Kishore along with hundreds of other workers, was waiting for hours for his turn to get a bus at Bijasan, a checkpost on MP-Maharashtra border, in Barwani district, 313 kilometres south west of Bhopal. The day’s temperature climbed to 42 °C. He intended to go back either by buses provided by MP government or private vehicles like trucks, taxi, auto-rickshaws etc.

Free buses are being provided at the Maharashtra border to take workers to Jhansi in UP, 650 km away, after a change of buses at Dewas and Guna. Similar arrangements have also been made at other border checkposts since Tuesday when the rush of migrant workers started, the officials said.

Those dropped at the border by buses or reaching the border on foot or bicycles have to wait for hours to get a bus..

Ram Verma, who had been waiting for least six hours with his wife and two children, 5 and 7 years old, at Bijasan, said, “I stuck around in Mumbai till now but getting stranded without a job meant taking care of my family with no money in hand. At least, I can have something to eat in my village.” He lost his job as a salesman in Mumbai.

Om Prakash Mishra from UP’s Jaunpur district, who fixes tiles in under construction buildings in Mumbai, reached Chhindwara, on Thursday morning, in a truck by paying ₹3,000. “With no job for two months I had run out of money. I requested my family to send money to me for the travel expenses,” he said.

A government official in Barwani, said the rush was unprecedented. “More than 20, 000 to 25, 000 workers are coming daily for several destinations in MP, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. We have arranged for about 120 buses. Seeing the rush, we need 200 buses,” he said.