Walmiki on duty to guide migrants
As the clock strikes 7:16 on Monday evening, a Shramik Special train carrying thousands of migrants departs for Lucknow from Platform 18 of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). Passengers seated inside the train wave goodbyes, while the railway officials and police personnel standing outside dish out a few rounds of applause.
Among those officials is Anup Walmiki, the hockey player from Mumbai who is employed as a ticket collector (TC) with the Central Railway. The 25-year-old, the youngest of the city’s famed Walmiki brothers, is part of the massive exercise to transport millions of migrants from Mumbai back to their respective states by rail in this lockdown period.
After more than a month of staying home, Walmiki was summoned to work on May 9 as the railways ramped up its special train services. Walmiki has since worked three days straight, putting in 12-hour shifts for the first two days and stretching it from 10am to 12:30am on Monday before a well-deserved day off.
As a forward who was part of junior India camps and senior camp before the 2012 London Games, Walmiki is used to receiving balls from midfielders and defenders on the hockey field. But now his job begins by receiving the migrants at the entrance of CSMT. They are brought to the station in batches by the state police in buses, after which Walmiki and his colleagues take over.
“Once they are dropped, twothree of us scan their documents, two-three others escort them to each compartment, while the rest check whether every passenger has got water and food,” Walmiki said on Tuesday. “People are in such a hurry that they jump into the first compartment they see. It can get too chaotic. But we have to ensure that everything is in order. And we can only instruct from outside the compartment due to social distancing norms.” Every day, around 25 TCS report to work and take turns in performing these various tasks. They are given face shields, masks, gloves, sanitisers, food and water. In the three days that he has worked so far, Walmiki has overseen the departure of three trains daily, each with at least 1,000 passengers majorly heading towards destinations in
Uttar Pradesh like Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Basti and Jaunpur.
“The numbers are unimaginable,” Walmiki said. “With all the protective gear we wear, you can’t even sip on water easily. We are always drenched in sweat, but we can’t wipe it off our faces. We have to be extra cautious. Like, a lot of people who take these trains come from Dharavi (a hotspot). And we want to help them, but we want to be careful as well. It’s very tricky,” he added.
Walmiki distinctly remembers the image of a mother-daughter duo heading to Lucknow on Monday struggling to carry two huge bags along. “I asked them how will you handle so much luggage. The aunty said, ‘What to do, son? We don’t know if and when we will come back. So we’re taking everything home’,” he recalled.
Coming back home is a challenge for Walmiki too. Out in the danger zone, he doesn’t want to put his near and dear ones at risk. “I don’t enter my house immediately. I sanitise most of my body with a cloth kept outside the door by my mother. She also keeps a bucket, where I place my clothes, belt and even keys. Then I head straight to bathroom and take a shower,” Walmiki said.
It’s an exhaustive process in all aspects, and Walmiki is bracing for many more such strenuous days ahead. But there’s something that makes it all worth it. “We know how desperate people are to get back home. And when the train moves, the expression on their faces is a sight to cherish. They’re so relieved. Those 10 seconds make up for all the risk and effort we put in the previous few hours,” Walmiki said.