Mother rides 1,800 km on two-wheeler from Pune to meet 5-yr-old son

Jamshedpur: With no trains plying during the Unlock phase and unable to afford a flight, a 26-year-old woman drove a two-wheeler along with her friend from Pune to Jamshedpur, a distance of 1,800km, to meet her sick five-year-old son.
Sonia Das, a resident of Bhatia Basti in Kadma, became restless when her husband, Abhishek Ghosh, called up and said their son, Dhruv Jyoti, fell ill and developed fever. She immediately tagged the Jharkhand government on the official Twitter handle and asked for help but got no response. She also rang up the Maharashtra helpline number without any success. Sonia then decided to drive her old scooter to her hometown. Fortunately, her friend Sabia Bano, a resident of Pune, decided to travel with her.
On Monday morning, Sonia and Sabia began their arduous journey and arrived in the Steel City on Friday. Soon after their arrival, they were detained for a few hours by the health authorities for Covid-19 test. “We conducted rapid antigen tests, we let them go after they tested negative and asked them to stay in home quarantine," DSP (Headquarters II) Arvind Kumar said. He also said dry ration for 30 days has been provided to the family.
Talking to TOI, Sonia said, “Passenger trains are not running between Tatanagar and Pune or Mumbai. Moreover, my husband and I do not have sufficient money to buy an air ticket. With no help coming from Jharkhand and Maharashtra governments, I decided to drive as I was extremely worried about my son.”
With tears welling up in her eyes, Sonia said, "Thankfully, we did not face any problems and spent the nights in petrol pumps and dhabas. I am now desperate to hug my child. I am hoping that the quarantine period is over soon."
“I am thankful to the authorities for conducting the Covid test within a short time,” Sonia said, adding that her son is recuperating.
Sonia had been working with a small-time production house in Mumbai and travelled on the scooter during work. She, however, lost her job during the lockdown. When all options ran out, she went to Pune where Sabia stays to look for a job as her husband’s income had also dried up. For the last three months, she was unable to pay the rent.
Her friend Sabia added, “Apprehending the risk she was going to face while travelling alone, I decided to accompany Sonia. Initially, I was not convinced with the idea of a scooter ride but with no option available, I chose to go along. We stayed at 10 petrol pumps and two dhabas.”