[ad_1]
Thousands of migrants are on the move, trying to reach their places of origin during the Covid-19 national blockade. And they’re leaving en masse from Mumbai, one of the country’s largest Covid-19 drop-off points.
Helping them in their endeavors are the Mumbai autorickshaw drivers who take migrant workers to Indore in Madhya Pradesh. The Mumbai-Agra highway that touches Indore via a ring road is seeing a steady stream of autorickshaws from the country’s commercial capital.
Officials and eyewitnesses estimate the number of these Mumbai three-wheelers crossing the Indore Ring Road at 50 every hour.
Mumbai has the highest number of Covid-19 cases for any city in the country and a strict closure since the end of March has removed thousands of autorickshaws and black and yellow taxis from the roads, leaving thousands of drivers and their families unemployed and without them. . enough cash on hand.
“I have driven an autorickshaw in Mumbai for the past 12 years. But everything is closed there now. I spent two months researching my savings, but that has also been exhausted. I have no choice but to return to my village, “Baleshwar Yadav, 54, who returns to his hometown in Jharkhand, told the PTI news agency. He had eight people, including two women and three children, crammed into his vehicle. three-wheeled.
Many of them are not sure when they will return to Mumbai. “There was no food in Mumbai due to lack of work. We will think about going back to the city later, ”said Ajay Yadav (36), from the Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Umakant Chaudhary said the autorickshaws were allowed to pass only after those inside were subjected to medical examinations when entering the Madhya Pradesh border.
“We have been seeing a considerable amount of Mumbai autorickshaws on Indore Bypass Road for the past week. We have also received information that some drivers are charging people to transport them to their places of origin in other states, “the officer said.
Migrants also return home on their bicycles. And some of them live as far away as Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh or Kalahandi in Odisha.
“Traveling in a crowded truck will cost me more than Rs 3,500, the bus trip will cost twice as much. And I only have Rs 700 in my pocket, ”said Ramjeevan Nishad, 27, who left Nallasopara to arrive in Vaisand after an 80 kilometer journey.
It is part of a group of dozens whose destination is Gorakhpur, which is 1,600 km away.
.
[ad_2]
