Migrants reach J’khand from Raj via truck; walk for 17km with no intervention from cops

Ranchi: As many as 26 migrant workers from Rajasthan’s Alwar district travelled all the way to Jharkhand on their own and walked around 17 kilometres from one end of the city to another after a mini-truck dropped them at the outskirts of Ranchi, to reach their homes during the ongoing lockdown, without any police personnel stopping them for screening. All of them have currently been put in a shelter home in Hulundu area soon after the administration got to know about the incident.
The 26 migrants, of whom 21 belong to Chaibasa and the rest live in Hazaribag, reached Booty More, on the outskirts of the state capital, via a mini-truck on Wednesday morning. TOI spotted 21 migrants in the afternoon near Hawai Nagar area as they were walking towards Tupudana on Khunti Road and when asked about their whereabouts, they said that reached the city from Alwar district after a two-day journey via road.
Chandan Pradhan, a resident of Goilkera block in West Singhbhum district, said, “We were working in a steel rolling plant since February and ever since the lockdown was announced, we had to wait for more than a month to get back home since the local administration did not allow inter-state movement. But after the relaxations came into force on May 3, the local administration arranged a vehicle for us and we reached Booty More around 6 am and since then we have been walking towards our home.”
Saluka Bodra, another worker from Budhigudha under Chakradharpur block, said, “We have been walking since the time we were dropped by the mini truck at the entry point of the city. Five of my colleagues, who were from Hazaribag, left for their village since they knew the way but we are struggling with finding the route which leads to our village.”
When asked if the police had stopped them when they covered the 17km distance from Booty More to Khunti Road by foot, Bodra said, “Nobody stopped us. Instead one of us asked a policeman for directions for reaching Chakradharpur and that is how we reached Khunti Road.”
When TOI contacted Ranchi SDM Lokesh Mishra, he said, “As soon as I received information about their arrival, I shifted them to Fatima Boys Middle School in Hulundu area (under Namkum police station limits). Once their screening is done, they will be sent back to their districts on Friday in buses.”