Pramod Kumar, 35, his wife Pratima and their three-year-old son Sameer reached New Delhi railway station from Jammu in the wee hours of Saturday. Their train home to Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, is scheduled to depart on May 19. With no other options available, a pedestal outside the nearby metro station will be their ‘home’ for the next three days.
The family presents the grim reality of the plight of stranded migrants trying to return home in the absence of direct or connecting trains, and proper accommodation during lockdown.
Mr. Kumar used to work as a labourer under the Shrine Board in Jammu.
His contractor helped him book the tickets to Bilaspur online. As there was no direct train available and the next available train to Bilaspur was on May 19, they had no option but to book the tickets without giving a thought to how they would manage for three days.
“I have seen places around, everything is shut. No eateries are open and no accommodation also. We will have to stay here only,” he said, clutching on to his bags as Sameer sat on his lap.
While leaving on Friday evening, Pratima said she had made 30 chapatis and tomato chutney for the journey which will last till Saturday night at most.
“We didn’t know how we would manage food but have been told that there is a school where the government is providing food. I will go there,” said Mr. Kumar.
For Sameer’s hunger bouts at odd hours, they had kept biscuits and mixture packets.
For water, the couple said that they bought a two-litre bottle for ₹20 from a public convenience opposite to a toilet facility, however, money is charged for using the toilets.
While others sitting nearby agreed that the public convenience was charging for services, the caretaker denied levying charges and said that the place is shut unless people need to use it in an emergency.
“ Paani bhi soch soch ke pee rahe hain (We have to think before drinking water),” said Mr. Kumar.
The travel home cost the couple close to ₹10,000 as opposed to ₹2,000 in normal times. Its a major blow to their finances but: “ Bas ghar jaa paa rahe hain, isse badi koi baat nahin hai (We are able to go home, there’s nothing more important than that),” he said.
‘Here since March 21’
Sitting next to the family was Riyadhi, a kinnar from West Bengal’s Kolkata.
“I have been living here since March 21,” she said.
Hopping between Delhi’s Malviya Nagar and Kolkata with her group, Riyadhi was clueless about any government facilities except a hunger relief centre.
“I have ₹1,000 left. I will use it to buy a general ticket back home whenever normal services resume. My group left for Kolkata on March 21. I came to the station on March 22 to buy a ticket and board the train but then the lockdown was announced and I got stuck here,” she said, adding that her group used to dance on auspicious occasions to earn money.
She claimed that five days after reaching the railway station, her purse got stolen which had her phone charger. Now, the phone is off and she has been unable to contact anyone for over 50 days.
Riyadhi gets meals twice a day at a nearby government school and goes to public convenience for relieving herself and bathing.
“If public transport starts sooner than the trains, I will go back to Malviya Nagar where I know people. My mother back home in Kolkata might be worried about me,” she said.
