The return of the migrant worker force to Telangana will take place sooner than assumed or so it seems because a few such families from Rajasthan have started coming back to Adilabad. A score of carpenters and marble workers from Barmer district and other places has arrived here as the COVID-19 travel restrictions are gradually getting relaxed.

Shankar Singh Sodha, a carpenter from Rawatsar in Barmer district which borders Pakistan, said thousands of workers from his district and from Jaisalmer are already headed to different places in the country, especially Telangana. The financial contributions of the migrant carpenters from these districts and partly from Jodhpur form the backbone of the economy there, said Shankar who leads a team of 24 workers deployed at different places in Adilabad district.

“We cannot afford to stay back at home because there is not enough work for all of us there. At least 30 families are dependent upon the income of the members in my group who work here,” he said, revealing the reason for returning rather early for work here, which, local employers are of the view will force others from different States to return too.

“We have also overcome the fear of COVID-19 now. In any case, our districts were free of the menacing virus,” he added to drive home the point.

The carpenter shuddered as he recalled the journey of his 24 workers towards Rajasthan in late March and early April. He, however, said it was necessary to put those memories behind them to get back into the groove.

“We walked till Nirmal where we were put in a shelter camp by the district police. When we were released and managed to hitch a ride on a lorry, we were threatened with getting shot down by policemen if we did not come out of the lorry carriage section,” he said, recalling the hardships faced during the 1,600-km journey, not to talk of the lack of food and water.

There are indications that even the construction labourers from Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh are likely to return gradually in the current month. Almost every migrant worker from that district is expected to return to various places in Telangana after sowing season, said sources.