Patna: Worried migrant workers from Bihar have begun returning to their homes by trains and buses, apprehending severe COVID-19 restrictions amid a sudden upsurge in cases across India.
India reported more than 58,000 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up from 6,987 cases on December 25.
In the past few days, thousands of migrant workers have returned to their homes in Bihar, riding on buses and trains. Most of the migrants are returning from Maharashtra and Delhi, which have reported the maximum number of COVID-19 cases, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh.
Carrying boxes on their heads and with family members in tow, the migrant workers anticipate a bleak future ahead with several Indian states slowly imposing COVID-19 restrictions to check the spread of the coronavirus. Many migrant workers had only recently left their homes to find jobs after the paddy harvesting season was over in Bihar, hoping to stay in their new locations for long.
“Everyone is talking about a fresh lockdown following the alarming rise in coronavirus cases. So we returned home before the government enforced it formally. Now, we will stay with my family at home for some time until the situation gets better,” said Yughal Kishore Prasad who returned to his home with his family members on Wednesday. A resident of Nalanda district, Prasad works in a sandals factory in Haryana while his other family members work as night guards.
Another migrant worker Kundan Kumar said the situation is getting serious in Maharashtra and hence he decided to return home before he gets trapped in his rented house. “I have taken both doses of the vaccine but the COVID-19 cases are rising fast. So I returned to my home,” said Kundan, who works in a private factory in India’s financial capital. Kundan who hails from Gopalganj district said 400-500 workers are returning every day.
“Everyone wants to return home and be in the company of the family. Only those people are stuck whose tickets have not been confirmed,” said another migrant worker Rajesh Yadav, who works in a cotton factory in Surat, Gujarat. Similarly, Amod Patel has returned home since the Delhi state government has banned open sale of food due to COVID-19 infections. Patel runs a food stall in India’s national capital.
Many migrant workers are also returning home fearing a repeat of the 2020 summer when many of them had to return to their homes, walking hundreds of kilometers in the sweltering heat after train, air and bus services were suspended.
Although there is no authentic data about the Bihar migrants settled across India, the Bihar government estimates their number to be around three million on the basis of money credited to their account during the first lockdown. Unofficial reports, though, put their number much higher.
According to a report, 25 of the 38 districts in Bihar have a large number of migrant workers, ranging from 40,000 to over 100,000. Of them, two districts, Madhubani and East Champaran, have more than 100,000 migrant workers, while in four districts, their population is more than 80,000.
