Jass Kaur Bindra
In Maharashtra specifically Mumbai covid cases are rising at a rapid rate. The situation is turning as worse as it was last year. The workers have started living for their hometowns, pairing the rising covid-19 cases. Last year because of the rising cases a sudden lockdown was imposed and workers got stuck.
They were unable to get back to their hometowns. Feeling the similar situation some workers have already returned back to their home town and some are returning. Issue of wages of the workers will emerge again. Past two days, the migrant workers are leaving from Mumbai back to their city.
The workers stated, “we are rushing in order to reach back our homes because we do not want the situation to get as terrible as it turned last year and we have to stay away from my families for such a long time without food and shelter because a means of earning comes to an end as soon as lockdown is imposed.”
The Maharashtra state government is imposing numerous restrictions in order to break the chain of covid-19. But despite these measures the spread of infection is not reducing rather the cases are rising at a speedy rate.
This year no massive crowd is visible on stations. Last year thousands and thousands of workers were gathered at the stations in order to return back to Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttrakhand etc.
Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Kurla, is the train which connects Mumbai to states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The officials of this department have find that there was a sudden strike rise in the level of passengers boarding the train.
Although the passengers have increased in the past two days, but the situation is not that terrible as it was last year. Fresh announcement by Chief Minister Udhav Thakre over imposing new restrictions in the state of Maharashtra, brought a double jump in the no. of migrant workers returning back home.
“Last year I reached my home in Jaunpur on the feet. This time I don’t want to be stuck in the similar situation. The vehicle owner told us that there will be no for the work as new restrictions have been imposed by the government. I don’t have work now. It’s better to leave before the stop the trains again.”
It was stated by a vehicle driver in Mumbai who got stuck last year in Mumbai because of Covid-19 restrictions. “We came back in February, hoping that we would get some work. But in the past two months, Covid-19 cases went up and we could not find any work. With new restrictions imposed, we will not get any work. We don’t have the money to survive here. In the village,
we can earn through farming,” said Sohanlaal, who does odd jobs and lives in Kurla, near Kalpana Talkies.
Therefore, the workers keeping the thought of their wages aside are rushing back to their homethowns.