Left homeless, migrants in Chandigarh caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
Hundreds of migrants neither have confirmation for date of boarding special trains back home nor a roof to spent the night under; hence, they await their turn at the Sector-43 bus stand
Even as 1,200 migrants were supposed to board the 2pm train to Bihar on Friday, over 2,000 turned up at the Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in Sector 43, Chandigarh, on Friday.
According to the officials, this has become a routine affair as many migrants stranded in Chandigarh are coming here without receiving the necessary SMS for boarding buses to the railway station. But, for these labourers, there is no other option, as they are homeless and have nowhere else to go.
‘KICKED OUT’
After the train had departed, migrants could be seen sitting by the slip roads between Sectors 43 and 42 and between Sectors 41 and 42, even as a few policemen tried maintaining social distancing here.
Among them, Nageshwar Sarna, said, “I gave up the room that I had rented in Maloya as I had not paid any rent and my landlord was threatening to force me out. I have tried to tell the police that I have nowhere else to go but they are not ready to listen.”
When asked, he said he was unaware that landlords weren’t supposed to collect rent during the lockdown.
Near the Sector 43/44 roundabout, Arjun, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, said he was living in Faidan village with his uncle, but he had kicked him out. “We had no money to eat and my uncle was refusing to feed me. When he got to know that trains are taking people back to their native places, he told me to get going. For two days, I have been coming here but my turn hasn’t come,” he said.
Seventeen-year-old Pankaj Kumar was standing with his two brothers next to the Sector 17 ISBT . “We were living with a cousin here who misbehaved with us frequently and made us leave. I have nowhere to go tonight. A friend of mine had a place here, but he boarded the train back home on Friday,” Kumar said.
One of the UT administration officials on duty here said, “Many people are coming here without getting the text messages. On Wednesday, some people who had the SMS couldn’t leave from the bus stand, while others went to their place in the confusion. They had to be adjusted on Thursday.”
He said migrants from as far as Chamkaur Sahib had also reached the station hoping to catch a train.
About 1.5 lakh people have registered for the Shramik Special trains from Chandigarh. Of these, 12,500 have already departed from the city in 10 trains. Chandigarh station superintendent Anil Aggarwal said it was not fixed till when the trains will continue, but two trains a day can be expected to depart at least till May 20.
GURDWARAS PITCH IN
Meanwhile, city gurdwaras are stepping in to feed the migrants left homeless. As per manager of the Sector 34 gurdwara, Amanjeet Singh, food for 1,500 people was being sent out daily through government agencies. Head cook of the Sector 8 gurdwara, Harminder Singh, said 700 food packets were being sent to Sector 43 per day.