LOCKDOWN WOES

Woman & her two sons walk back home for over 25 days

Sandhya.Nair@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:17,04.2020

While thousands of people’s attempt to walk home, some within the district, following the lockdown failed, a Virar family comprising a woman and her two minor sons, are home after walking along railway tracks and roads for over 25 days, with a little help from the police.

Aarti Ghod had gone to Taloja in Raigad district to fetch her sons Pranay, 14, and Shivam, 8, from their hostel on March 21. She missed the train to get back home. She and her sons walked through deserted roads and railway tracks from March 22 to April 13 and managed to reach Goregaon.

Along the way, the mother begged for food and money to feed herself and the children. With no cellphone, she was unable to contact her husband Ashok, a daily wage labourer.

After reaching Goregaon on April 13, she managed to call Ashok (after requesting a passerby to dial the number on his cellphone) and narrated her ordeal.Then itwasAshok’sturnto walk along thetracksfrom Virar and reach Goregaon in the wee hours of April14. “By 6am we set out again on the tracks and managed to reach Vasai by evening. But we were caught by the railway cops,” said Ashok.

The family was handed over to the Manickpur police in Vasai (west). Cops heard out the couple—the mother and sons had walked over 85 kms and Ashok had covered around 48 kms—and they were just 14 kms away from their Virar home. Police then sent them to their house.