Fearing Covid surge, youth pack their bags to leave Bengaluru

Bengaluru: With Covid cases surging massively in Bengaluru and the Karnataka government deciding to enforce lockdown from Tuesday, several youths were seen vacating their accommodations in the state capital and leaving for their hometowns.

Vivek Joshi, 28, from Yedrami village in Kalaburagi district and staying in Yelahanka here, told IANS that his parents have asked him to return to their village irrespective of job prospects. "I resigned from my job in a computer hardware firm situated in Vidyaranyapura and decided to leave. There is certainly a whiff of uncertainty here. Moreover, cases are on the rise here. My parents literally begged me to return as they do not want to live without me in the worst time like this, therefore, I am leaving Bengaluru," a sobbing Joshi said.

He added that this was not just his case but many of his friends have decided to return to their hometowns.

"My friend Ashok Sahu from Odisha left two days ago. He was working elsewhere but we had become friends when we came to Bengaluru to complete our course in a computer institute. There we became friends and we shared a room some time and once he got a job in Electronic City, he moved there. We both are bachelors and our upbringing is of the same level. We both hail from middle class backgrounds," he said.

Ravi Kumar Patil, 25, who stays in Mathikere in Yeshwanatpura, said that he was leaving Bengaluru for now and hope to return once the pandemic subsides. "I have requested my firm to give me work from home option but they have not considered it yet. Let us see how it pans out in the coming weeks. If the company agrees, I am happy to work with them.

My first priority to stay with my parents, who are asking me to return as they are not ready to live without me at this time," he said, adding that his parents live in a village near Jamkhandi in Vijayapura district.

"My parents fear that with cases in Bengaluru seeing massive jumps and hospital beds full, it is far better to live in one place. It is not my case alone... my father has instructed my younger brother who is working in Pune also to return. He has already resigned and reached home last week. I took some time to take a call whether to return or not.

Now that I have decided to return, it really does not matter whether my company keeps me employed or not," he said. Local news channels are running stories of how migrant workers are leaving Bengaluru and trying to catch any mode of transport to leave this city. Several people with bags packed were seen at railway stations, bus stations and even key junctions where they were seen negotiating with private transport vehicles.