Call it providence, or just straight-forward human compassion; but for the 11 migrant workers from Odisha, who had walked for over 48 hours from the outskirts of Tiruppur hoping to find a way back home, Krishnagiri was where they could find help to head back home.
Having walked for a little more than two days, after they set out from the outskirts of Tiruppur on Friday, Malya Ghantayat and 10 others, including a woman, were spotted by a journalist with an evening daily while walking on the highway in Krishnagiri.
He took them to a nearby eatery and arranged for their food. He also posted a photo of their plight in the local news group prompting immediate action from the District Collector S. Prabhakar.
Dr. Prabhakar sought out their contact number and arranged for them to be brought to the Collectorate. In the meantime, he also alerted the Collector of Tiruppur. Incidentally, there was train for migrant workers leaving for Odisha from Tiruppur on Sunday night. Immediately, Dr. Prabhakar arranged for a vehicle for the 11 workers, and sent them off to be dropped off at Tiruppur, some 230 km away.
Malya Ghantayat’s voice quivered with emotion over phone as he along with the 10 others were being driven back in a comfortable van. “I can’t express how happy I am now. We never imagined we would see our families this soon. We left by foot because we had no information on trains. Every time we went to the Collectorate, police sent us back because of overcrowding. So, we decided to walk to Odisha,” says Mr. Malya. They were employed in a vest printing unit in the outskirts of Tiruppur town until the lockdown. “When the lockdown came, we were paid, and we ate with that money. Soon, we ran out of money. We survived with rations given to us,” he says.
As they journeyed, they were filled with gratitude for the sudden turn of fortune that saw them on foot, hungry and thirsty during the start of the day, and then being driven back to a train back home hours later.