Dakshina Kannada people in Mumbai threaten to walk back home

Mangaluru: About 60 migrants from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, attached to the hotel industry in Mumbai, threatened to return home walking on Monday. Avinash Pol, along with a group of like-minded people, has volunteered to send back Kannadigas to their respective homes. They have been trying to reach out to the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada district administrations, as well as the state government, seeking permits and to make arrangements, so that they can return home.
On the one hand, the state government is worried about the surge in Covid-19 cases, mainly from people who have returned from Maharashtra, and on the other, the plight of those staying there is miserable.
Avinash Pol said, “We are trying to make appropriate arrangements to send people back home. Most of them are jobless for the past two months, and staying in chawls. People from Borivali, Central Mumbai, Vashi and Thane have reached out to us for help. Some of them have held talks with BJP leaders, and are awaiting an official communication. We have also approached the Maharashtra government. Since they are finding it difficult to sustain, and with the monsoons approaching, we expect the situation to go from bad to worse. We will be holding another round of meetings on Monday, after which a decision to walk towards Karnataka will be taken,” he said.
Bhujanga Shetty, a waiter, who works in a hotel in Thane, and hails from Udupi, said, “With every passing day, the situation is getting worse. We have remained jobless for two months, and are finding it difficult to pay the rent and sustain ourselves. Back home, my family is also worried. My father-in-law is aged and he keeps calling and asking, if he will ever be able to see us again. I have two school-going children. We cannot afford to arrange a private taxi. Every morning, we wake up, with the hope of going back home,” he said.
“Many philanthropists are making arrangements for sending people back to their hometowns, we hope philanthropists from the coast also help,” said Avinash.