GREATER NOIDA: When Sharmili Devi, 30, moved to Gautam Budh Nagar with her two kids from Sahibganj in Jharkhand for a better life, and found a job at a construction site, little did she think that she would have to go about begging for food in a matter of months. But the wave of adversities that the pandemic brought along left her with little choice.
“Nobody is distributing food here because the location is remote and I’ve used up all that I had saved. Come evening, we set out to look for houses that can lend us some money or ration,” shared the single mother who has separated from her husband. Sharmili Devi is one of over 100 migrant workers stranded with families in Luksar village in GB Nagar, demanding to be sent home as it has been more than 30 days since the lockdown began, and survival has become difficult.
A few metres away, another single mother, 32-year-old Sunita, from Sitamarhi in Bihar, has six children and nothing in her house to feed them. “Arranging one meal a day is difficult. My husband died two years ago and before the lockdown, I used to earn Rs 300/day. With my savings, I paid last month’s rent and bought food thinking the lockdown would end by May 14,” she said.
Begging for food has taken a toll on their sense of self-worth, said Dheeraj Jha, who worked in an iron-moulding factory and has a family of five. “My family needs to be rescued. I feel so helpless, I might kill myself. Those who come to distribute food make us feel like beggars. It’s better to die than beg,” he said.
In addition to the food scarcity, the rent they are not being able to pay is making them debt-ridden, said the workers. “The landlords have given us relaxation but have not exempted us from paying the rent. It is all adding up, which will be even more difficult to pay later. We are surrounded by problems with literally no solution,” said Md Izhar, who is stranded with a family of 13.
Satish Tiwari, a local who spotted these workers four days ago and arranged for some ration, had tried to inform GNIDA’s hunger helpline about people in need of assistance but in vain. “The person on the phone merely asked me to pass on the helpline number to each person who needs help. He hung up when I said they do not have money on their phones to make calls,” he said. He added that there are around 115 workers, including 100 from Bihar and rest from UP, who are living in one-room colonies made by villagers near RK Public School.
Mushtaq Ahmed, an official managing the hunger helpline of GNIDA, said that food packets are being delivered to people at tehsil level, and they are also taking individual complaints on helpline number 8585567809. “We are providing help to everyone who is reaching out to us. So far, over 9 lakh food packet have been distributed,” he said.
“Nobody is distributing food here because the location is remote and I’ve used up all that I had saved. Come evening, we set out to look for houses that can lend us some money or ration,” shared the single mother who has separated from her husband. Sharmili Devi is one of over 100 migrant workers stranded with families in Luksar village in GB Nagar, demanding to be sent home as it has been more than 30 days since the lockdown began, and survival has become difficult.
A few metres away, another single mother, 32-year-old Sunita, from Sitamarhi in Bihar, has six children and nothing in her house to feed them. “Arranging one meal a day is difficult. My husband died two years ago and before the lockdown, I used to earn Rs 300/day. With my savings, I paid last month’s rent and bought food thinking the lockdown would end by May 14,” she said.
Begging for food has taken a toll on their sense of self-worth, said Dheeraj Jha, who worked in an iron-moulding factory and has a family of five. “My family needs to be rescued. I feel so helpless, I might kill myself. Those who come to distribute food make us feel like beggars. It’s better to die than beg,” he said.
In addition to the food scarcity, the rent they are not being able to pay is making them debt-ridden, said the workers. “The landlords have given us relaxation but have not exempted us from paying the rent. It is all adding up, which will be even more difficult to pay later. We are surrounded by problems with literally no solution,” said Md Izhar, who is stranded with a family of 13.
Satish Tiwari, a local who spotted these workers four days ago and arranged for some ration, had tried to inform GNIDA’s hunger helpline about people in need of assistance but in vain. “The person on the phone merely asked me to pass on the helpline number to each person who needs help. He hung up when I said they do not have money on their phones to make calls,” he said. He added that there are around 115 workers, including 100 from Bihar and rest from UP, who are living in one-room colonies made by villagers near RK Public School.
Mushtaq Ahmed, an official managing the hunger helpline of GNIDA, said that food packets are being delivered to people at tehsil level, and they are also taking individual complaints on helpline number 8585567809. “We are providing help to everyone who is reaching out to us. So far, over 9 lakh food packet have been distributed,” he said.
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