CHENNAI: Shakeel Ansari and his four friends were cycling their way home on Monday when their journey came to an abrupt halt -- police had stopped them on the outskirts.
The five workers from Jharkhand had spent all their savings to buy bicycles for Rs 5,000 each hoping they could pedal home and be with their families on Eid, which falls on May 25. “I somehow want to meet my family before Eid,” Ansari, who works at a factory in Ekkaduthangal.
But Ansari’s story, unlike thousands stranded in Chennai and elsewhere in the country, had an immediate happy ending.
“One policeman sent us to Central Railway Station as a train was leaving for Chhattisgarh today,” Ansari told TOI over the phone from a train that was on its way to Raipur.
However, the five men had to sell their cycles at a steep discount of Rs 4,000 hours after buying them. With Rs 1,000 each left in their pockets, Ansari and his friends hope to get a truck or a bus to Ranchi.
Kareem A K Abdul, state committee member of Social Democratic Party of India, said Muslims stranded in camps have already missed out on a chunk of the holy month.
“Usually we break the fast at 4am. But camps don’t provide food at that time,” he said.
Given the lack of widespread efforts to facilitate labourers’ return, workers are scrambling amid desperation to reach the Chennai Central railway station.
One such effort by a group of workers led to unrest at Mugalivakkam.
“We arranged our own buses to reach the station. But even that has been stopped,” said Saddam Ansari, one among the four workers from Uttar Pradesh. They were taken to a nearby police station in Mugalivakkam. Saddam said they had been receiving half of their salaries and were not able to buy essentials. “Most mosques here are closed. Even when mosques in our native are closed, we can still make arrangements for prayers,” he said.
The local police inspector said that the UP workers were picked up to understand their demands, adding that he informed them they can’t leave Chennai till Tuesday as there was no train.
The five workers from Jharkhand had spent all their savings to buy bicycles for Rs 5,000 each hoping they could pedal home and be with their families on Eid, which falls on May 25. “I somehow want to meet my family before Eid,” Ansari, who works at a factory in Ekkaduthangal.
But Ansari’s story, unlike thousands stranded in Chennai and elsewhere in the country, had an immediate happy ending.
“One policeman sent us to Central Railway Station as a train was leaving for Chhattisgarh today,” Ansari told TOI over the phone from a train that was on its way to Raipur.
However, the five men had to sell their cycles at a steep discount of Rs 4,000 hours after buying them. With Rs 1,000 each left in their pockets, Ansari and his friends hope to get a truck or a bus to Ranchi.
Kareem A K Abdul, state committee member of Social Democratic Party of India, said Muslims stranded in camps have already missed out on a chunk of the holy month.
“Usually we break the fast at 4am. But camps don’t provide food at that time,” he said.
Given the lack of widespread efforts to facilitate labourers’ return, workers are scrambling amid desperation to reach the Chennai Central railway station.
One such effort by a group of workers led to unrest at Mugalivakkam.
“We arranged our own buses to reach the station. But even that has been stopped,” said Saddam Ansari, one among the four workers from Uttar Pradesh. They were taken to a nearby police station in Mugalivakkam. Saddam said they had been receiving half of their salaries and were not able to buy essentials. “Most mosques here are closed. Even when mosques in our native are closed, we can still make arrangements for prayers,” he said.
The local police inspector said that the UP workers were picked up to understand their demands, adding that he informed them they can’t leave Chennai till Tuesday as there was no train.
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