VIJAYAWADA: Even though buses and trains are being run for migrant workers, still there are some who are choosing bicycles to go back home amid the scorching heat. On Sunday morning, TNIE met 10 migrants in Ramavarrapadu who impatiently wanted to leave for Brahmapur, Odisha.
One of them was 34-year-old Basant Kumar, who pedalled to the city from Guntur with his wife and five-year-old son riding pillion. Basant was working in a mirchi unit in Guntur till its closure due to a lockdown.
With no source of income to bank on and after being forced to vacate his house for failure to pay rent, he lost his patience and did not want to wait any longer for permission to board a Shramik Special or RTC bus that will take him and his family to the Odisha town bordering Andhra Pradesh. Karthik, another migrant, said the group started from Guntur at 3 am on eight bicycles. "The house owner asked us to vacate as we were not in a position to pay him the monthly rent of Rs 3,000," he added.
The reason why the group stopped in Vijayawada was because Basant's son fell sick due to the heat. Much to their relief, a group of volunteers passing by provided them water, food and medicines for their remaining journey. The volunteers arranged a lorry to ferry the migrants to Ichchapuram, less than an hour away from Brahmapur.
"Lockdown has been extremely hard on us. The owner of the mirchi unit has not paid me in the last two months. My family survived on whatever little I had saved last year. However, we have exhausted all my savings. Cycling back to Odisha is the only option left before us," Basant said.
He added that he had registered to go home almost a month ago, but did not hear from the officials till now. "A week ago, they told us that we’d be sent back in special buses from Vijayawada. However, there was no communication after that. Finally, we became hopeless after mandal revenue officer told us that no trains were being operated to Odisha from Guntur."
Lorry to take them till Ichchapuram
Volunteers who gave them food and water, also arranged a lorry to ferry the migrants to Ichchapuram in Srikakulam, less than an hour away from Brahmapur