Desperate to reach home, 70 workers get into a truck for 1,200 km ride

Bagish Jha | TNN | Apr 24, 2020, 07:33 IST

Gurgaon: When 70 migrant workers stranded in Ludhiana crammed themselves into the box of a truck on Wednesday, it was their last-ditch effort to escape the interminable suffering induced by the lockdown. For Rs 2,000 per passenger, the driver had promised to transport them to the safety of their homes in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, about 1,200 km from where they were stuck.
The truck, carefully covered with tarpaulin giving it the look of a lorry carrying essential items, the only vehicles which are allowed to cross borders as per the stringent lockdown regulations.
"Factories are closed and we have no work and we have no hope of getting work in the near future. Government agencies are distributing some food but that is not sufficient for a family. It had become a daily struggle to arrange food for my children. So, some of us hatched this plan to return home," said Pawan Yadav, who had boarded the truck along with this wife and two children, adding that in Ludhiana, he has left behind many other workers from several villages across the country who are struggling to cope
On Thursday, they were just about halfway home when in Farrukhnagar, the truck was stopped for inspection by Gurgaon Police who had received a tip-off about this desperate escape plan. “We signalled the driver to stop the truck which was covered on all sides. The driver and his helper ran away after stopping the vehicle near a check post,” said ASI Raj Kumar from Farukhnagar police station. Lifting the cover, a police officer found 70 people, including women and children packing the truck, and none of them could produce a valid movement pass.
The other officers chased down and arrested the driver Gurcharan Singh and his helper, Gurusevak, said Kumar. A case was registered against the two under section 188 (disobedience to order), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life), 384 (extortion) and 34 (common intention) of IPC, and relevant sections of the Disaster Management Act.
The migrant workers were shifted to government shelter homes across Gurgaon.
The police said that there have been more instances of people are trying to illegally move workers in trucks meant to transport essential items. On April 15, Gurgaon Police arrested 16 people for trying to take 10 workers posing as patients to Bihar in two ambulances. The ambulance owner had charged them Rs 7,000 each.