By the time the lockdown is lifted and normalcy restored, determined people, especially those from the working class would have performed quite a few acts attempting to reach their far located homes.
The feats of 20-year-old Mahesh Jena, a migrant worker who pedalled 1,700 km to reach home in Odisha from Sangli in Maharashtra and the 1,400 km scooter ride of teacher Razia Begum of Bodhan in Nizamabad to bring back her stranded son from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh are just two examples.
The name of Anil Kumar Das, a 29-year-old fabricator from Motihari, Bihar, would get added to this list if he pedals the 1,700 km to home from Patancheru in Hyderabad from where he started at 7 a.m. on April 15.
He had already covered over 300 km on his bicycle purchased three days back for the purpose when he crossed Adilabad town via the NH 44 bypass at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
Mr. Das is tech savvy and uses a smart phone which is his guide for the route.
Amateur cyclist
“The route in not difficult as this NH reaches Varanasi, and from then on - it will not be a problem to find way to home,” said the resolute migrant worker.
The fabricator had come to Patancheru to work with a multinational e-commerce company only on March 6.
“I got some payment for work till March 20 but it was spent in the subsequent days of lockdown,” the amateur cyclist recalled.
“I decided to head home and the options that were left to me were either ride on a two-wheeler or a cycle. The latter stood better chances of being ignored by security personnel on the road and hence I purchased the cycle for ₹ 4,800,” Mr. Das disclosed.
The fabricator, clad in smart jeans and a full sleeved t-shirt, was stopped in the night by police at Gamjal toll plaza, about 120 km away from the inter-State border at river Penganga on NH 44. “I used the time to take rest for two hours before taking to the road once again,” he smiled, revealing the determination to complete the journey.
On seeing women in a group of migrant labourers arriving at the road side camp where Bheemsari villagers were serving food, Mr. Das seemed to compare his status with those in the group.
“I am married but am lucky enough that my wife did not accompany me to Hyderabad,” he grinned as he made the observation.
