HYDERABAD: Just a few months ago, Gopal Mandal, 22, who has been living in Hyderabad for the past few years doing odd jobs, had returned from his native village in Habra after the lockdown. He says that in the last few weeks, work availability has once again gone down, just like last year, and he is scared of another lockdown. Gopal and his friends, who share a room in Bachupally area, have now decided to return to their villages before they get stuck in the city.
With just a backpack on his shoulder, Gopal was seen waiting outside a railway station, on Thursday, with a hope that he would get a train ticket. “We are no longer able to afford the room due to a dearth of job opportunities and now, as lockdown rumours have started resurfacing, my family also wants me to return. Though we tried to get a train ticket, the waiting list was too long. So, we left our room and are now waiting to get a ticket,” he said.
The fear of getting stuck during another lockdown has gripped most migrant workers in the city, as a result of which, many of them have started heading home. In the last few days, scores of migrant workers in Telangana, most of them belonging to States such as Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and UP, left the city. While some were alone, some were seen with their families, waiting at various transit points for transportation.
“The cases are rapidly increasing in the State. My relatives have told me that currently, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have imposed a lockdown and soon it will be imposed across the entire country.Like last time, I do not want to get stuck and walk back to my village. This is why I am leaving the city in advance. ,” said Monu, 29, another migrant worker belonging to Satna.
Officials deny reports
The State Labour Department officials have, however, denied reports of mass exodus of migrants. They claim that those leaving the State are just a few in number and they are probably leaving due to their personal reasons.
Speaking to Express, an official from the Labour Department, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “So far, we have not received any complaints of migrant workers leaving the city. However, we have already alerted all our district officials to keep an eye on their movement. We are also encouraging the migrant workers not to panic as there are no reports of a possible lockdown yet. We are also coordinating with the employers, NGOs, and even Health Department to provide sanitisers and other essential services to the migrant workers, so that they don’t leave the city, as it will affect them and the State.”
Similarly, the South Central Railway (SCR) officials also refuted the exodus claims. “There have been no reports of migrants’ exodus via trains. In fact, the train rush has reduced in the last few days, as people are avoiding places with crowds,” said Chief Public Relations Officer Ch Rakesh. When asked about the people waiting outside the railway stations, the official said that no such incidents have been reported from Hyderabad.
Nearly 5 L migrants left TS during 2020 lockdown
During the nationwide lockdown imposed in March,2020, more than 4,70,768 migrant labourers had left the State, as per the data from the Labour Department. However, there is no data on how many of them returned. From other States, around 24,448 had returned to Telangana after the unlock processes began. The South Central Railway (SCR) officials also refuted the claims. “There have been no reports of migrants’ exodus via trains. In fact, the train rush has reduced in the last few days, as people are avoiding places with crowds,” Chief Public Relations Officer Ch Rakesh told Express