NEW DELHI: Hoping to return to their native states, migrant workers from different parts of the national capital and other states, have been queuing up outside east Delhi’s Yamuna Sports Complex, which has been turned into a shelter for them amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.
At the sports complex, migrant labourers can get themselves registered for train journey to their native states. Food is also provided to them at the complex.Viraj Singh (19), a resident of Hardoi district in UP, said he walked from Panipat in Haryana to reach the national capital.
“I went to Panipat around six months ago in search of a job. There, I used to work as a labourer. On Wednesday, I started walking along with my friend from Panipat and reached here on Thursday morning after covering the distance of almost 87 kilometres. We hope the government will send us to Hardoi soon,” he said. Shivam Singh (19), Viraj’s friend, said that they just want to get back home.
“We had no work in Panipat post the lockdown. We walked from Panipat to Delhi hoping that we would be able to return home,” said Shivam.Scores of other migrants, with hopes in their eyes, waited patiently outside the complex.
Umapati Shukla (36), a native of Gonda, UP, said,”I received the train reservation message at 3.51 am on Thursday. I saw it in the morning and rushed to Yamuna Sports Complex from Adarsh nagar along with my wife and two children at 8 am. Despite receiving the message, I am waiting outside the complex for almost eight hours now,” Shukla said.
Shukla, a property dealer said that it is becoming difficult to survive in the city.“I tried to get a movement pass, but couldn’t get them. I have been living in Delhi for the past 15 years. I have no work post lockdown and we somehow managed to bear our basic expenses. Now the situation is deteriorating and we want to go to Gonda. We will return to the national capital once the situation gets normal,” Shukla said.
Sent back home
1,250 migrants were sent back to the railway station to board trains back home on Thursday, 750 of them are from Uttar Pradesh