Ghaziabad’s Ramleela Maidan, which saw an outpouring of migrant workers on Monday, wore a deserted look on Tuesday but the stream of migrant workers continued to flow into the district unabated. Late on Monday night, the district administration decided that buses would take the workers from shelter homes directly to the railway station. Official sources said 7,200 workers were sent by six trains and around 3,600 workers were sent by 103 buses on Tuesday.
A video of police giving chase to migrant workers on the Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Seemapuri went viral on Tuesday. Rakesh Mishra, Circle Officer, Sahibabad, said thousands of migrant workers from Delhi were trying to enter Ghaziabad through the border on Tuesday morning.
‘Rules of lockdown’
“The administration’s order is to maintain rules of lockdown at this border. Only those who have registered on Jansunwai portal are allowed to be taken to the railway station. The police tried to organise the migrant workers by using mild force,” said Mr. Mishra. “Despite limited resources, we are sending 75% workers from Delhi, Haryana and Punjab through trains and buses,” he said.
The Hindu caught up with some workers at Krishna Banquet Hall near Mohan Nagar, one of the centres where workers from the border are brought before being sent to their home States. Social distancing hardly mattered here but after hours of walking, they had a place to rest, drink water and get food.
Sanjar Alam, who hails from Kishanganj, was desperate to go home. Describing himself as a handicraft artist, he said he lived in Sangam Vihar and was working in a factory manufacturing pens. “The contractor and the owner kept promising that they would pay us our dues and give ₹1,000 for food but it never came. We are 12 workers from the same village, six of us eventually decided to walk home. We were picked up by the Delhi police and dropped at a no man’s land. U.P. police then threatened to send us back. Somehow, we reached here by taking lanes and bylanes.”
In Delhi since he turned 18, Mr. Alam was finding it hard to come to terms with the prospect of a long stay at home. “I am an artist. Farming is not for me,” he showed his soft hands. Id-ul-Fitr is round the corner, but Mr. Alam hoped by Id-ul-Zuha god would bring a smile to his face. For now, he was busy showing the OTP in his mobile phone to every person that he felt could be of help. “Bhaiyya, next bus kab ayega?” (Brother, when is the next bus coming?)