MYSURU: Estate worker Sudha carried her one-and-a-half-year-old child and walked around 140km with just one thought in mind: she could catch a train home if she reached Mysuru.
But on Wednesday, after she and 17 other coffee estate workers made it to Mysuru from Belur in Hassan district, that hope was dashed.
The state government had cancelled all outbound trains and there was no way to reach Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu.
Each worker earned around Rs 10,000 a month. But when the work season ended around mid-March, there was no income.
“We go back to our native place after the coffee plucking season. But due to the lockdown, we were stuck for over a month. All the money we earned was used to buy essentials. With no assistance from our employer, we were forced to walk,” Sudha said.
“We have family in our native place. Former MLA MK Somashekhar brought their situation to the attention of government officials, who visited the spot and moved them to a temporary shelter.