Only biscuits to eat, many walk on expressways, rail tracks

NOIDA: Heavy bags on their heads and children in tow, a group of migrant workers is walking along the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, wiping off sweat from their foreheads every now and then. They have set out on foot for home and are determined to continue until stopped by police.
Hundreds of workers from faraway towns in Punjab and Haryana have been walking along expressways and railway tracks for days to reach home in various UP districts such as Fatehpur, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur. Surviving on just biscuits and namkeen, the huge tree on the way becomes the shade for them from the blazing sun or the ramshackle shop a shelter from the rain.
With no cash or jobs at hand, these workers feel it is better to head home and earn a living there from government schemes. Some have medical emergencies and need to visit their ailing families.
Sunil Kumar, among a group of seven who had left Sonipat on foot on May 3, said: “We worked in fields and collected stubble in the village. Our work stopped on April 24 and we didn’t know what to do. We were running out of money as we are paid on a daily basis. So, we decided to leave for our home in Fatehpur. I had Rs 500 when I started. Now, I am left with only Rs 150. We have been surviving on biscuits and namkeen. Residents have been kind enough to provide food on the way,” he said.
For 51-year-old Ram Prakash, heading home to Fatehpur is important because his wife has had a recent surgery. “My wife and four kids live in Ganeshpur village. My wife told me the government has started some work under MNREGA. I am enrolled in my village, so I think I can get work. It’s better to be with my family rather than stay here. I have very little money and I am out of work,” he said.
Noida DM Suhas LY said they had clear instructions nobody would be allowed on roads and railway tracks.
“Noida is an industrial hub. We are trying to accommodate some of these workers here,” he said.