After a second exodus in April when the Delhi government announced a lockdown due to the second wave of the pandemic, migrant workers have been trickling into the Capital as it unlocks with a renewed hope of finding employment. As the city roars back to life, transport hubs are teeming with people arriving by trains and buses every day. But for some, boarding buses back home is a bitter-sweet journey as their dreams of making it big in the city have been dashed due to lack of employment opportunities.
At the ISBT-Kashmere Gate Metro station, a long line of passengers meanders through the few spots of shade that provide relief from the summer sun. One of them is Roshan Singh from Zirakpur, who used to work at a shop in Sadar Bazaar. His employer terminated his services when the lockdown was announced. Back in the Capital hoping to find a job, Roshan says employment is hard to find but needs it to sustain his family.
“People are desperate to come back, just as they were desperate to leave fearing a long lockdown. However, looking at the way people are crowding here, I don’t know when COVID-19 will spread again, and we will have to go back. It is better than sitting at home with no income,” he says.
First timers
While some are making a renewed attempt at seeking employment, there are first timers to the city as well. Waiting to board a bus to Sonepat, Karthik Chaudhary from Uttar Pradesh says he is on his way to report for his first job as a security guard. “A friend of mine got me the job. I have completed my graduation but there are no jobs that I could find due to COVID-19. I am taking up this offer till I can find something better, he says.” He says he has not been vaccinated, but hopes his employer will ensure that.
As passengers deboard with hope, there are others boarding buses with their belongings packed in jute bags disillusioned with what the big city had to offer them. “I was here right through the lockdown trying to find a new job. I did not leave as I had moved here from Bihar with my family. I am heading back now as I have not been able to find any employment. The contractor who had promised me a job says he cannot promise me anything. I will go home to my village and find something there until this uncertainty is over,” says Ajit Kumar who works at construction sites.
Lucky ones
Ashutosh Mishra, a migrant worker from Bihar is at the ISBT terminal in Kashmere Gate to receive his family. He says he was lucky as he worked as a security guard at a factory that prints labels for medicines, and hence operational.
“But there are several others from my village who had to head home after losing jobs. Times are difficult. If there is another lockdown, we will head home but even if we can find a job and work for a month or two, we will be able to sustain our families,” he says.