BELAGAVI: Two migrant workers, employed by a private civil contractor at a construction site in Bengaluru, had walked over 600 km on railway tracks from Bengaluru to Belagavi on way to their hometown in Madhya Pradesh, fearing another Covid-triggered lockdown like last year.
A gateman at a railway crossing near Gandhi Nagar in Belagavi stopped them when he found them walking on the tracks on Thursday. The two -- Pawan Dhurve, a resident of Azwar Rayat, Dindori district, MP and Funde Mithusingh Lal, a resident of Kundwari, Dindori district, MP -- were exhausted and told the gateman that they had decided to walk on the railway tracks to their hometowns via Maharashtra as they did not have any money to pay for train or bus tickets. The two lost their jobs after their employer died and also, they were not paid wages for some weeks. .
The railway gateman, Umesh Aptekar, told The New Indian Express he saw them walking on the tracks and they asked him whether the railway tracks led to Pune. Realising that they were travelling on foot, Aptekar offered them food and water, and immediately contacted activists Ravi Nirmalkar, Sachin Kelvekar Raju Mutkekar and Shubhak Shelke, all from Belagavi.
They not only arranged for food and a room for the two labourers, but also bought train tickets for them. The daily-wagers left for MP by Goa Express on Friday, profusely thanking all the activists from Belagavi who came to their rescue.