Migrant labour who have lost their livelihood to the outbreak of COVID-19 are in distress as they are not been able to reach their native places because of the continuing lockdown.
Some 300 migrant workers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra are put up at Rajiv Gandhi Auditorium. Since they were caught unawares most of them are left with only one pair of clothes. These workers who are mainly employed in zari work and construction and some others as hamalis, are normally provided accommodation at their place of work and as a result they neither have beds nor utensils for cooking.
Some, belonging to nearby places like Deglur, Dharmabad, Nanded and Latur in Maharashtra and physically fit set out on foot and have already reached home. However, those who belong to distant States along with women and children are staying put at the temporary accommodation. There are some 220 people aged between 5 to 70, including 80 women.
Madhav Margavi, 45, from Deglur said that he did not have money to get back home on the day after the Janata Curfew. “Had I expected the situation I would have managed to go somehow. Now I am eagerly waiting for the lifting of lockdown,” he said fighting back tears.
Though the Food Bank, Nizamabad, IRCS and other philanthropists have come to their rescue and have been providing food three times a day the migrant workers are struggling as the place lacks basic amenities. Ordeals of women are indescribable as there are no adequate facilities for bath or to attend nature’s call.
“Some of us did not have bath for 10 to 15 days. We are sleeping on cardboards. Good Samaritans are giving food three times a day and we are indebted to them. However, we are very much worried about our families at home,” says Sachin Sudhakar Patil, 35, a mason from Latur.
The poor hapless workers who have been at the camp are passing time playing traditional games like pachis and relaxing under the shade of trees in the premises.
