Worried migrant workers in a hurry to get back home

Worried migrant workers in a hurry to get back home

Crowds Throng Chennai Central After TN Announces Further Restrictions

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:20.04.2021

Hoping to return to their hometown in Rajasthan before things go out of control, Ram Prasad along with eight of his family members reached MGR Central railway station on Monday morning to catch a train. Prasad’s family reached Chennai by bus from Dindigul where he was a daily wage labourer in a plywood-making unit. However, he was worried to see anxious guest workers like him slowly and steadily congregating at the railway station.

Fearful of a repeat of the exodus last year, guest workers are crowding railway stations and making inquiries on trains to their destinations. On Sunday, the Tamil Nadu government had put in place restrictions after Covid-19 cases breached the 10,000 mark for the first time. The restrictions have caused panic among hundreds of guest workers. “We have been adhering to the SOPs that are in place since last summer. We have advised employers to take care of the workforce,” said a senior IAS officer in the department of labour.

LONG WAIT: Migrant workers at MGR Central on Monday

Pondy imposes 10pm-5am night curfew

Puducherry has decided to impose night curfew between 10pm and 5am from April 20 to contain the spread of Covid-19. Hotels have been asked to close by 8pm and allow only parcel service later. The Beach Road will be closed by 5pm.

To avoid harrowing scenes like last yr, many spend days at stns

Chennai: “I want to see my family reach home (native village) before things turn unpleasant,” said Prasad, who was worried about getting train tickets on time and a safe journey amid the Covid-19 surge.

A group of youth from Odisha recalled their experience last summer and said they were “chased like dogs and treated badly” when they tried to escape the lockdown. “We don’t want that to happen this time,” said Vidhuth in not-so-fluent Tamil. They sell carpets for a living in Chennai.

A few yards away, Shivraj and his extended family took refuge beneath a tree. It has literally turned their home for the past three days. “We are trying to book tatkal tickets for 10 family members, barring five of our children. Only four tickets were confirmed. Without a confirmed ticket, no one is let into the station. I don’t know what to do,” said Shivaraj of Bihar’s Bhagalpur district. He along with his brother and father were selling terracotta dolls in and around Tambaram. Though the situation was grim in their state, he said they had “no other choice”.

Gopal, a porter, said they had been seeing an unusual crowd in the past three days. “We can see hundreds of youngsters and women with children sitting with their belongings, packed and waiting restlessly to get tickets to their destination,” said the young porter pointing to the long queue at the tatkal counter, while a Southern Railway official said trains bound to north and northeastern states were going packed.

A small section of guest workers from MSMEs in Coimbatore and garment sectors in Tirupur have begun leaving TN too. The departure began a week ago and over the past two days, there has been a marginal increase in those leaving Coimbatore. However, the vast majority of guest workers in both cities have decided to wait and watch as they had returned only three months ago after almost six months in their hometowns.

As of now, there has been no sign of reverse migration from the central part of TN, particularly Karur, Trichy and Pudukottai districts that have a significant number of guest workers. A similar situation prevailed in Madurai and other southern districts.

(With inputs from V Mayilvaganan, M K Ananth and K Sambath Kumar)

LONGING TO GET AWAY: Migrant workers camp at Chennai Central railway station on Sunday waiting for tickets to get home