Eldose Chettan from Kerala’s Wayanad district worked in a resort at Murud in Raigad district and was desperate to return home to look after his father, who is inflicted with cancer. Similarly, 18 others from the southern State had their own compelling reasons to go back.
But with no trains running to the southern States from Maharashtra, their families approached Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi’s office, which in turn asked the local Youth Congress to make arrangements for their travel to Kerala.
“The Congress obtained the travel permission for all of us and also arranged a bus. We reached Kerala four days ago by road,” Mr. Chettan told The Hindu over the phone. This batch of 19 is among the many that have returned to Kerala from Maharashtra, solely through arrangements made by the State Youth Congress.
Mr. Gandhi’s office in Wayanad has become a centre to connect with families of Kerala workers stranded in Maharashtra. Requests for evacuation are being sent directly to the State Youth Congress headquarters or its president Satyajeet Tambe-Patil.
“We are directly in touch with Rahul ji’s office in Wayanad. They receive hundreds of requests daily and many of them are from families of workers stuck in Maharashtra. There are no trains running as of now. So we have taken it upon ourselves to help stranded workers,” Mr. Tambe-Patil said.
The Maharashtra unit of the Youth Congress has till now sent over 500 people stranded in districts such as Nanded, Buldhana and Raigad to their home towns in Kerala. “It is our local district units that take the responsibility of arranging buses, other transport, and valid travel permits. We bear the expenses and also provide necessary aid such as food and water required for two days,” he said.