All the members of a small group of snack sellers from Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh, who are headed for home on two-wheelers, sounded sincerely resolute when they promised to quarantine themselves as per the COVID-19 protocol once they reach the district headquarter, hopefully late on Sunday or Monday. Their assurance only shows that awareness with regard to the pandemic has percolated to all the levels as intended.
The group, comprising six adults, including a female and two children used to sell samosas and other snacks at Medahalli in Bengaluru, running a shop. They were in business in the capital city of Karnataka since the last dozen years when the lockdown forced them to take a break.
“We thought it would be better to return home until things get normal. We purchased two used bikes in addition to the three we already had and started on Thursday,” disclosed Vinod Kumar Yadav of Dayachapra village in Ballia, about 2,100 km away from Medahalli, when the group stopped for a brief rest under a shady tree near Seetagondi on the NH44 in Adilabad district.
Displaying an unusual composure for someone who is hoping to exit a difficult situation, Akhtar Ansari, another group member, revealed that they could not get even a glass of water until they reached Hyderabad outskirts. “People flatly refused to give water, apparently suspecting us to be carriers of COVID-19,” he recalled of the experience due to the stigma.
Mushtaq Ansari even justified the action of people who refused water to them during their journey. “Even we understand that we cannot go home directly and put the lives of our family members in danger,” he observed.
The passage of the group from Karnataka into Telangana and further into Maharashtra was a smooth affair. “If our journey is smooth until we reach our district, we will go straight to the district hospital and ask the authorities there to put us in quarantine if needed,” Mr. Yadav affirmed once again.
