'They don't even scan documents properly'

Workers build a tent as migrants wait at Suncity grounds in Vasai. Pics/Hanif Patel

Amid flip-flops over building tents at Vasai's Suncity ground, 500 migrants had to bear the heat as the tents, built again at the Palghar Collector's orders, proved insufficient. Collector Kailash Shinde reversed his last week's order to dismantle all tents and halfway through the dismantling work, workers scrambled again to build one across 40,000 sq ft.

On Saturday, the Collector ordered that a tent across 40,000 sq ft be built again as a train for West Bengal got scheduled. But the tent could not accommodate all migrants on Sunday. Over 500 of them were forced to sit under the sun," an officer attached to Collector's office told mid-day.

Migrants who could not be accommodated inside the tent sit in the sun at the ground

A woman, Meera Yadav was seen carrying a three-month-old baby while entering the Suncity ground.

BJP general secretary from Nalasopara, Manoj Barot wrote to top officials and various stakeholders, including the VVCMC commissioner, Palghar police, collector, SDM, tehsildar, CMO and others seeking an enquiry. "It is an administrative failure. How can people be allowed to sit under the sun with no tent cover? Even a pet is protected from the heat. But the migrants have been forced to sit in the sun, just the way animals are treated before they are slaughtering," Barot told mid-day, adding, "Crores of rupees are wasted for one marathon by VVCMC, which cannot even erect a proper tent for these migrants."

Workers build the tent as migrants wait to be given tickets for the train at Suncity ground

Collector Shinde claimed, "There were two Shramik Special trains, one for Jaunpur and one for Gorakhpur. We have managed the crowd very well and none of the migrants was allowed to sit outside the tent cover. Everyone sat in the shade."

Apart from those at the ground, hundreds of migrants waiting for Shramik Special trains to Uttar Pradesh were stopped nearly one-kilometre away from the ground. Social distancing was brazenly violated despite the heavy police deployment. Police were seen enforcing social distancing only in the one-kilometre perimeter from the ground.

Migrants wait to be allowed inside the ground

Workers exhausted
"We are confused over the tent cover at Suncity ground as sometimes we are asked to erect the tent and later we are asked to remove it. And when all the tent cover was removed, we were again asked to erect the tent across 40,000 sqft. We are also human beings. There is a huge dearth of manpower. I have been working at this site for several days without proper rest," said Balaji, one of the five workers building the tent.

Contractor Nisar Ahmed said, "It is a confusing situation. There is a severe lack of manpower. My staff is exhausted but still, they are working so that migrants and staff on the ground get some relief. It takes 24 hours to cover 40,000 sq ft and 12 hours to remove it. At present, five labourers are working on this and they are exhausted."Migrants walk towards the tent at Suncity ground

Migrants walk towards the tent at Suncity ground

Tickets bungled
With two Shramik Special trains to Uttar Pradesh scheduled on Sunday, thousands of migrants flocked to the ground. Some migrants said that they had been put on a train to Gorakhpur instead of Jaunpur.

"This is gross mismanagement. They can't even scan documents properly. I had applied for a train to Jaunpur but have received a message to board a Gorakhpur-bound train. How will I go to Gorakhpur from Jaunpur? The distance is more than 200 km," said Mahesh Kumar Bharatiya, a vegetable vendor in Nalasopara, stranded with his seven family members.

Naigaon resident Sushil Kannaujia too was accommodated on a Gorakhpur-bound train. "I was shocked to read the message because I had applied to go to Jaunpur, but the message says I have been listed for Gorakhpur train. And when I tried to go tell this to the concerned person at Suncity ground, cops did not allow me to enter.

Instead, I was chased away by cops. Now I am standing in the sun with my 12-member family," said Kannaujia.

A physically disabled man, Shrawan Prajapati, too complained of being chased away by cops. "I have to go to Gorakhpur. I received the alert but when I reached the ground with my family, the police started to chase us. I cannot walk properly, yet I managed to escape. Now we are standing in a queue. They have not made any arrangement for water, most of us are thirsty. But a few NGO volunteers have distributed snacks and water bottles," said Prajapati, who is a painter in Nalasopara.
Last week, 58-year-old Vidyotma Shukla died of a heart attack brought on by a heat stroke.

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