Hyderabad: Forsaken by big cities, migrants head for native villages for succor

Hyderabad: With no work available in Hyderabad and other major cities the migrant workers are returning to their own villages walking on foot for miles together every day.

The returning migrants are stopped at the State and district boarders by the police and not allowing them to reach their destinations. Hundreds were stranded at the State boarders.

In Hyderabad, every day hundreds of migrants are returning their home villages as they run out of the groceries and there was no means to bring them. With a hope to get food in their home villages, the migrants are walking miles together.

During the evening hours hundred are seen on roads walking towards their destinations in Hyderabad. Women, men and children are going on foot to their respective home villages. At few places they are fed by voluntary organisations and the police.

The migrant workers are facing hardships as the lockdown being enforced due to coronavirus spread has entered the sixth day on Sunday. Most of the migrants are daily wage earners and they are not being paid due to the lockdown.

With no money in hands and with the spiraling prices of the essential commodities in the cities they are opting to leave Hyderabad. In the same way, those who are living Mumbai and Bengalore are also returning to their home villages.

Thousands of people of old Mahbubnagar district go to Mumbai and Bengaluru in search of work and they live in the slums of those cities. Similarly, workers of old Medak, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts come to Hyderabad for work.

They live in slums and buy essential commodities whenever they are paid their wages. After the lockdown they are not paid any wages by their employers and they have run out of money in the past few days.

The migrant workers do not have any social security and they are not covered by welfare schemes like free ration in the cities where they work. However, they have ration cards in their home villages.

As the Central and State governments have announced relief measures to them, they have decided to go to their home to avail the relief as it would be provided in their own villages.