No work or money in village; here at least there is food

Migrants who arrived in the city at LTT on Tuesday to resume work

As the lockdown in the city eases and it somewhat returns to its old pace, migrants who had gone home before and after lockdown have started returning to the city in search of jobs, even as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. mid-day met these migrants, some of whom left a few days ago in Shramik Special trains, only to be called back by employers who offered to bear the travel cost, at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus LTT on Tuesday.

Long-distance train services that resumed on June 1 have had very few passengers arriving at LTT in the past 48 hours, most of them being migrants, their families and patients of serious ailments from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states.

Badal Saroj who arrived from Prayagraj yesterday. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

"I am a driver and left the city just 20 days ago. In my hometown too we were struggling to get food, but we had enough ration to survive for a few days. Now that vehicles are allowed on the road again, I returned to earn money and provide for my family," said Kumar Yadav, who returned from Prayagraj on Tuesday.

Prince Sharma, 30, who resides in Malad, went to his hometown, Prayagraj, on May 25 after his elder brother died. "I could not make it to the funeral as I did not get a Shramik Special immediately. Now I have a huge responsibility. I returned to resume my job at a bakery as I do not want to lose it," Sharma said.

Suresh Kanojia first from left at LTT returned with his workers and is hoping to resume his laundry business in Pune

While some of the arrivals had walked hundreds of kilometres to reach home, most had left the city before the lockdown.

-Survived on wheat, rice-
"I had left three days before the lockdown began and was supposed to return in three weeks. Only I know how I survived in my hometown. There were a lot of problems in Mumbai, but at least people were getting food. Nobody took care of us in villages, there was no work at all. With no money, we have managed to survive on wheat and rice. I work here as a plumber. I booked a ticket with the help of my employer and came back to work," said Badal Saroj from Prayagraj.

Kumar Yadav, migrant from Prayagraj

Suresh Kanojia, who runs a laundry in Pune, had boarded a Shramik Special train a month ago along with a few workers. "I suffered heavy losses and have been paying rent to the landlord in Pune even though we didn-t earn a single penny. I have returned with hope as we had no work back home. The workers are also in deep trouble. I hope we don-t face any more lockdowns," Kanojia said.

Railway officials ascribed the few number of passengers to the rising COVID-19 cases every day. From June 3 to 7, 60 trains arrived in Mumbai from other states carrying 20,000 passengers. In normal times, this number would have been 60,000.

60
No. of trains that reached Mumbai between June 3-7

20,000
No. of passengers who have reached Mumbai

Confusing Unlock makes migrants- lives difficult

A confusing phase I of Unlock is now making migrant workers- lives difficult as they once again feel stranded and have to worry about getting two square meals. A 30-year-old driver who works for a cab aggregator returned to Mumbai a couple of days ago. "Before the lockdown was executed, I had gone to Kota, Rajasthan. I got stuck there after state borders were sealed," said the driver, requesting anonymity. "I used to earn R25,000 every month in Mumbai and would send R10,000 to my family in Kota. In Mumbai, my expenses come up to R15,000 including rent of R5,200, which I paid throughout the lockdown and an advance for June. But the income has been nil." The man tried to contact cab aggregators to know if services will resume on Monday, but could not reach them. "Several people said offices will resume and professionals would obviously prefer cabs till local trains resume. But I feel stranded again as I am running short of cash. I don-t even have enough money to return home," the man said.

Businesses struggle amid lack of workers

Jugal Tejwani, who runs Vinayak Bakery in Mulund East, has been running his business with a quarter of the staff. "Our supply chain has been badly affected in the lockdown. Vendors overcharge because their vehicles are stopped at various check nakas between Masjid Bunder and Mulund East. They claim that cops stop their vehicles and they have to bribe their way ahead," said Tejwani. "Though I have been overcharged by vendors, I have not increased the price of products to maintain customers. Now, labourers want to return to Mumbai but most of them are in quarantine centres in their hometowns. Those who can return are worried about travel within the city as there are no local trains," added Tejwani, claiming that he has 10 per cent of the business volume. Most of the business owners of the Mulund East Vyapari Sangh MEVA are senior citizens and amid the pandemic, their second or third generations are running business to keep elders safe at home.

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