Migrants begin to leave Hyderabad in numbers

HYDERABAD: While migrant workers in construction sites continued to work on Wednesday, hundreds of daily wage labourers started leaving the city as a 10-day state-wide lockdown took hold in Telangana.
Holding their belongings, many were seen at railway stations and bus stops during the morning hours, figuring out ways to leave. Several opted for private transportation, buses and vans to leave the city immediately. Even after the daily relaxations between 6 am and 10 am got over, most migrants waited at footpaths near the Secunderabad railway station, hoping to catch a train back home.
“I was working in Hyderabad for the past few months. But now that the government has declared a lockdown, we are not sure as to how long it will go on. Hence, I am heading back to my hometown near Jhansi,” said Vivek Lal, a mason.
Even before the lockdown commenced in Telangana, many started leaving the city fearing that a country-wide lockdown will be imposed again. Quite a few left the city before the West Bengal elections while many others left ahead of Ramzan and wedding season.
However, those at the labour camps in the city, continued with the work as the state has exempted all constructions and project activities, where workers are available in-situ or in secured labour camps. “Today, there is no disruption in construction work as all labourers reported to work as usual,” said a contractor manning one of the largest labour camps in the city, which houses about 2,500 migrant workers.