HYDERABAD: As the Bengaluru-bound train from Delhi chugged into the Secunderabad railway station at 6.20 pm and the rush of passengers filled the platform, busy peering with hopeful eyes were a group of 45 migrant workers, expecting a journey back to their home state Uttar Pradesh. They too were sitting inside a train, only that it was parked on a vacant railway line along with other stationary trains, which has served as their makeshift home since the last 50 days.
“We are all contract workers at the Secunderabad railway station. Before the lockdown was imposed in March, we were part of the housekeeping team. However, once the lockdown began, our salaries stopped and we were evicted from our rooms as we could not pay the rent,” said Virendar Kumar, sitting inside the S-9 coach of the now stationary Nizamuddin Express.
These workers, who have been working at the station since August last, have been caught in the debt spiral since the lockdown. “Our contractor delayed payment for February and in March, we ran out of money and had to leave. We were about 100 workers then. We requested the management to let us live in the train, which they agreed to. We are yet to get our March salary,” said Sumit, another worker.
With no proper water supply and a place to cook food, they said they feel like bonded labourers. “I feel miserable. The police are kind and give us food once a day. The rest of the day, we just languish in the coach which gets very hot. The Railways supplies water to the bogie in which we live. Power supply is also there though with long breaks. For drinking water, the Railway staff do not allow us to go to the station and get some.
A jail would have been better,” added another worker. Sometimes, as the train’s electric supply gets disrupted, the workers themselves take up repairs to ensure that at least the fans work. Meanwhile, many from this group plan to leave by foot even though they have registered with the local police to travel home by train. “Many of our friends have left. One group that came from Madhya Pradesh left a few days ago on foot and some in a bus, while some others were taken in trains. But we are still here without any money. We are planning to walk 100 km after which someone will quarantine us and would provide us food,” said a worker.