Maharashtra returnees forced to camp outside their village
WARANGAL: Two migrant families that returned home from Bhiwandi in Maharashtra due to the pandemic have been forced to set up temporary shelters outside their village, after scared residents’ objections.The families have set up shelters in an agriculture field on the outskirts of Peddapendyala village in Warangal (Urban) district. As the villagers were worried for their own safety, the families agreed to reside here.
Speaking to Express, Y Hari Krishna from one of the families said that due to the pandemic, he had lost his job two months ago in Bhiwandi. He then decided to return with his family to his house in Peddapendyala.
He said, “We don’t have any symptoms of Covid-19, but the residents are scared. So, we decided not to enter the village and informed the Gram Panchayat authorities and the medical team that we will be in quarantine for 14 days in our agriculture field, in the village outskirts.”
Krishna said he also lost his mother when he was in Maharashtra, but was not able to return home due to the lockdown imposed across the country. “After the relaxation of lockdown, we returned as we don’t want to die in another state,” he said.
Peddapendyala village sarpanch A Annamma said that though the families had not been allowed into the village, the residents were checking up on them. He said that every day, Asha workers visit the families to check for symptoms. “We also provide groceries and vegetables to them,” Annamma said.