Nagpur: Two of the biggest migrant shelter homes in Nagpur, at Bokhara’s Tuli College and Reshimbagh’s Jain Kalar Bhavan, closed down as all inmates left for their homes after spending 40 days stranded due to the lockdown. Similar is the case with other shelters where everyday a batch of migrants leave for their home states either by bus or train. Around 500 migrants still remain to be sent home in city’s shelter homes.
Devendra Kumar of NGO Livewell Foundation which is managing the Agrasen Bhavan shelter at Ravi Nagar said now only a handful remain at his centre. “Majority of them have gone and that takes away the anxiety of a few who remain behind. They know that the process of evacuation has actually started and soon they too will be connected to their return journey,” said Kumar.
He added that the ones who are awaiting the homebound journey do keep getting calls from their home. “Obviously relatives wonder why they are not yet on the bus or train. But we also counsel them and tell them that arrangements are being made and it’s only a matter of time. Formalities related to paperwork have already been completed for everyone,” said Kumar.
For shelter owners/hosts, there already seems to be a sense of loss of developing. Mohabbat Singh Tuli, chairman of Tuli group of educational institutes, which hosted over hundred inmates said everybody cried when the last bus left. “For over a month there was so much activity here with families around, food being cooked etc. Now all of a sudden there’s a deafening silence and complete darkness on the campus. I felt like my family has left after spending some time during vacations,” said Tuli.
Vijay Chourasiya, caretaker of the Reshimbagh centre, said all 70-odd inmates leaving the facility did feel like a sudden change after a hyperactive daily schedule. “Only one of the inmates is currently admitted to the government mental institution, while all others have already reached their homes. It was our pleasure to serve them,” said Chourasiya.
Former mayor and MLC Anil Sole says now it’s time to focus on people from Nagpur division who are stuck elsewhere. Sole wrote to state assembly speaker Nana Patole saying there are over 45,000 people from Nagpur division who are stuck due to the lockdown. “The government needs to take proactive steps so that local residents can be reunited with their families at the earliest,” said Sole.
Devendra Kumar of NGO Livewell Foundation which is managing the Agrasen Bhavan shelter at Ravi Nagar said now only a handful remain at his centre. “Majority of them have gone and that takes away the anxiety of a few who remain behind. They know that the process of evacuation has actually started and soon they too will be connected to their return journey,” said Kumar.
He added that the ones who are awaiting the homebound journey do keep getting calls from their home. “Obviously relatives wonder why they are not yet on the bus or train. But we also counsel them and tell them that arrangements are being made and it’s only a matter of time. Formalities related to paperwork have already been completed for everyone,” said Kumar.
For shelter owners/hosts, there already seems to be a sense of loss of developing. Mohabbat Singh Tuli, chairman of Tuli group of educational institutes, which hosted over hundred inmates said everybody cried when the last bus left. “For over a month there was so much activity here with families around, food being cooked etc. Now all of a sudden there’s a deafening silence and complete darkness on the campus. I felt like my family has left after spending some time during vacations,” said Tuli.
Vijay Chourasiya, caretaker of the Reshimbagh centre, said all 70-odd inmates leaving the facility did feel like a sudden change after a hyperactive daily schedule. “Only one of the inmates is currently admitted to the government mental institution, while all others have already reached their homes. It was our pleasure to serve them,” said Chourasiya.
Former mayor and MLC Anil Sole says now it’s time to focus on people from Nagpur division who are stuck elsewhere. Sole wrote to state assembly speaker Nana Patole saying there are over 45,000 people from Nagpur division who are stuck due to the lockdown. “The government needs to take proactive steps so that local residents can be reunited with their families at the earliest,” said Sole.
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